Last week in San Jose, a teenager was arrested and charged as an adult for his role in setting up and recruiting gang members for a violent home invasion robbery that targeted members of his own family.
Prosecutors: Harrowing San Jose home invasion caught on video was 'masterminded' by owner's son
17-year-old Simerjeet Singh is accused of "masterminding" the home invasion robbery that targeted his father's home in Evergreen last month, enlisting 17-year-old Moses Herrera, 16-year-old Alvaro Valdivia and 22-year-old Moses Torres, three men he apparently knew from school. All four face felony first-degree robbery and burglary charges, with gang enhancements.
The robbery was partially captured on home surveillance video, and widely circulated on news outlets and social media last month. Investigators reportedly caught a break in the case when one of the teens caught on video turned himself in.
Prosecutors allege Herrera and Valdivia were driven to Singh's house on Shiloh Place about 11 a.m. on May 8 by Torres.
Herrera and Valdivia, who was wearing a hood and gloves, allegedly broke in through an unlocked sliding door.
The defendants then armed themselves with kitchen utensils, severed telephone land lines and stole a cell phone on the first floor. When they went upstairs, they were confronted by a female resident, who thought the noises may have been created by her husband. She took a 14-month-old girl they were watching -- Singh's half-sister -- and ran into another room.
The two defendants ran after her, smashing through a door the victim was desperately trying to hold closed, according to the District Attorney's Office. The three then fled that room and locked themselves into a bathroom. As the victims called for police on a cell phone, the defendants unsuccessfully tried to get in, prompting the burglars to leave.
According to prosecutors, Singh was not inside the home and did not live there during the alleged robbery. A motive for the scheme remains unclear. If convicted, he could face over twenty years in prison.
More here: Teen was suspected 'mastermind' behind armed robbery at father's home
