Five men accused of forcing their way into two neighboring homes and terrorizing two innocent families Tuesday evening have been arrested, police said Wednesday.
Six intruders intended to steal marijuana but were given erroneous information and busted into the wrong homes, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
“These two families did nothing to warrant these attacks,” Pacheco said. “There is no evidence that indicates that either of them was involved in any criminal activity.”
All but one of the men have been caught. Police continued to look for him Wednesday, Pacheco said.
Each intruder is facing 55 felony counts which include aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and robbery.
They have been identified as Jamar J. Cotton, 19, Thomas L. Barnes, 20, Omar J. Jimenez, 22, Andres Pedrego, 21, and Kino Emanuel, 25.
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Pacheco gave the following account of the home invasions, which were reported around 5:30 p.m. in the area East Valencia Road and South Nogales Highway:
The intruders were told that they would find marijuana at a particular home, so they went there heavily armed and kicked in the door.
Upon realizing that there were no drugs in the home, they went to the home next door thinking they could find the drugs there.
Once again, they kicked in the door and pointed guns at the occupants before fleeing.
A total of 11 people occupied the two homes. All of the victims were related to each other, Pacheco said.
A man and a 10-year-old boy were pistol whipped. The man suffered a laceration while the boy suffered a contusion.
Police responded to the area after receiving a call about people in front of a home armed with guns. Before they arrived, the suspects fled in a 1988 Ford F-150.
An officer spotted the vehicle leaving the area and followed it.
At South Liberty Avenue and West Drexel Road, officers attempted to pull the vehicle over but the driver — Jimenez — sped away.
He drove through a stop sign at South Sixth Avenue and Drexel, striking a vehicle driven by a Domino’s delivery man.
Two people in the cab of the truck fled into the desert, followed by four people who were hiding in the bed.
The five intruders remained in the Pima County jail Wednesday.
