Zip ties, guns and a rope: New details emerge on Newport Beach home invasion
Two men accused of taking part in a home invasion robbery of a Newport Coast mansion that ended in gunfire this week were armed with a firearm, zip ties and a rope, according to Orange County Superior Court records.
Authorities allege that Andrew Miguel Rosas, 24, was one of the men who entered the gated community on Vista Luci early that morning intending to commit a robbery. Rosas, of Pomona, along with another man who has not been identified, were wearing dark clothing and masks when they were dropped off at the home, according to court papers.
Rosas, who was arrested Tuesday, is facing charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, carrying a loaded firearm in public and conspiring to commit a crime, all felonies. He has not yet entered a plea.
Newport Beach police were summoned to the $5-million luxury estate on Vista Luci at 4:45 a.m. Tuesday by a 911 call reporting a home invasion in progress.
The caller told authorities that one of the residents shot a suspect while he was inside the home. The injured man and another suspect fled, police said.
Read more: A home invasion in Newport Beach ends with an apparent suicide
When officers arrived, they found Rosas, who had gunshot wounds, lying in the street, police said. A handgun was nearby.
A second suspect was later found in bushes near the home with what police described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has not released the person’s name because it hasn’t been able to notify next of kin, officials said Friday.
Rosas, who remains hospitalized, appeared in court on video this week, court records show.
Rosas recently served time in Los Angeles County jail after pleading no contest to a felony count of taking a vehicle without consent in October 2022. He was sentenced to two years in jail, according to court records.
Police have said there is a connection between the targets of the home invasion and the suspects but have declined to elaborate on the relationship. Prosecutors wrote in court papers that Rosas was working “in concert with two conspirators.”
Property records indicate that the home had been rented for $31,000 a month in January. It is not clear how the group gained access to the neighborhood, which has a guard at the entrance.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
