Suspects threatened to shoot family during Panorama City burglary, victims say

Monday, April 27, 2026 4:36PM PT
PANORAMA CITY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Panorama City family was awakened by burglars ransacking their home on Cedros Avenue overnight.

The burglars ordered the family of four to stay inside the room or be shot. It's the latest in a string of burglaries in the San Fernando Valley.

In Spanish, Arrel Sanchez described the terrifying moments when two burglars, one of them armed with a gun, said they'd shoot him if he didn't stay where he was.

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He was hiding in a bedroom with his 7- and 15-year-old daughters as the burglars ransacked their home.



Los Angeles police were called to the home around 11 p.m. on Sunday.

The thieves got away with some jewelry, according to the family. Sanchez said the two suspects left behind some kind of tool they used to break into the house.

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Sanchez told Eyewitness News he wonders why his family was targeted. He noted that he doesn't have a business, a luxury car and is not rich.

LAPD filed a report, but there isn't much of a description of the two male suspects who broke into the home, other than that they were wearing black hoodies.



Sanchez's wife, Karla Mendez, said she also doesn't know why they were targeted. She said maybe it was just their bad luck.

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She added that they don't have much and just moved in, and on May 11, they will have lived there for a month.

LAPD says it is still looking for the suspects involved.

According to the family, some of the jewelry stolen from the home was gifted to the 15-year-old daughter for her qinceañera.
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