Five men with guns, some dressed in police type clothing smashed their way into the home. The held the terrorized family hostage while they searched for valuables. But a girl in the house was hiding, and managed to call her brother next door. Giovanni Airoso was enraged. He came over screaming and throwing things and the gunmen fled.
"I almost could've gotten shot. People say it's kind of dumb going in there without a gun, but hey dude, when it's your family, a lot of people would've done the same thing." Airoso said. This brash invasion was frightening but not all robberies are so obvious.
Veronica Hernandez says her home was robbed while she was asleep. What's really scary is that Veronica had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV just two feet from the window.
She says he took the purse and cell phones next to her, then made his way into her sons room where he took a video game console and other items. The total loss was in the thousands of dollars.
"That's the most horrible feeling to be violated that way," Hernandez said.
Veronica's incident, in which is home is burglarized while residents are asleep is called a Hot Prowl Burglary. This, combined with home invasions throughout the valley seem to be on the rise.
"We think we're untouchable and we're not. It could happen to anybody. It's very scary for me and my kids," she said.
Fresno Police are investigating the burglary .Hernandez told us police said they have identified a possible suspect.
The Fresno County Sheriff's Department is handling the home invasion case. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday night.
