Surveillance video captured two suspects robbing a woman in her 60’s as she exited her vehicle just outside her Moreno Valley home last month and the victim’s family believes she may have been followed.
The incident in the 26000 block of Sugarcane Drive occurred on Dec. 26 just before 10 p.m. after the victim, identified only as Lien, had gotten off work as a server at a nearby restaurant, stopped for gas and made a quick trip to a Kohl’s department store.
For Lien’s daughter Sammie and her daughter-in-law Jill, the video is difficult to see.
“The video is kind of hard to watch because she is screaming for help,” Sammie told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson. “It’s hard for us to hear it.”
The footage shows the two suspects approaching Lien as she’s getting out of her car. Working together, one of the suspects blocks the woman from getting back in her car as the other suspect grabs her from behind.
As Lien fights back, trying to hold on to her purse, she takes a hard fall as one of the suspects yanks it away from her before they take off running down the neighborhood street.
According to Sammie, her mother, who speaks primarily Cantonese, suffered a bruised leg and ribs.
“I’m definitely heartbroken just because she is older and she is my mom,” she added.
When Lien was leaving Kohl’s earlier that evening, her daughter says someone approached her vehicle and asked her for money.
“She didn’t roll her window down or anything,” Sammie explained. “We believe that she was followed by the same guy who knocked on her window at Kohl’s.”
As the incident outside Lien’s home unfolded, Sammie and Jill could hear her screams from inside the house. By the time Sammie got outside, Lien had driven off, trying to chase the two suspects down. Jill, in the meantime, called 911.
“They ran to the corner,” Jill said of the suspects. “They had someone waiting for them down the street. The boys got into the vehicle and drove off.”
The family, who said the incident in their own neighborhood has shaken them up, has since filed a police report.
By releasing the security footage, they are hoping that someone out there will recognize the two male suspects.
“Even though you think you made it home safely, just make sure you are still watching your surroundings,” Sammie said.
While the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department told KTLA they are searching for at least three male suspects of unknown ages, the victim believes her attackers were teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18.
Authorities are also looking for a light-colored silver or brown four-door vehicle.