Lincoln Heights : 4 Men Rob Home by Posing as Police

For the third time this year in the area, gunmen posed as police officers to gain entry to a home, where they robbed a family of money, jewelry and a TV set.

Police say the four Latino men showed a star-shaped badge after ringing the doorbell last week at a Lincoln Heights home and said they had a search warrant. When they were let in, the gunmen ordered the occupants--a man, a woman and a man who lives in the rear of the house--to the ground and covered them with a blanket, said Los Angeles Police Department Detective John Vach. They then handcuffed them and ransacked the house.

No one was injured, but the men got away with about $2,000 worth of merchandise and cash, Vach said. No arrests have been made.

The Police Department’s Hollenbeck Division received reports of similar robberies in January and March within a mile of the home where the April 24 robbery occurred.

The victims said the robbers had Cuban or South American accents and spoke both English and Spanish.

One suspect was described as 50 to 60 years old, about 6 feet tall with short, curly gray hair and green eyes.

The second suspect is 40 to 45, with tight, curly black hair, and the third gunman was described as 5 feet, 3 inches tall in his late 20s. Vach did not have a description of the fourth suspect.