Investigators say two men, one armed with a gun, forced the 90-year-old victim back inside. Neighbors don't feel so safe after what took place.
The 90-year-old woman did not want to be identified. She talked with detectives after surviving the home invasion.
It happened around 11 a.m. as she walked out of her Rossmoor home to pick up her newspaper.
"She was caught by surprise. It happened quickly," said "Jim," the woman's son.
Investigators say two men approached, one with a handgun, as she walked back into her house.
"One suspect put the gun up against her neck, told her to do as they say and she would not be hurt," said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Dept.
"They told her to sit down in the chair and when she was bound with electrical cord, and a cloth was placed over her face, and she was told not to look at them, and she obeyed them," said Jim.
Authorities say the suspects ripped her jewelry off her body, then ransacked her home for more than half an hour before taking off.
The victim was then able to trigger a life-alert system that she wears around her neck to notify police.
"I'm extremely concerned about her welfare. I'll let it go at that," said Jim.
The woman did not receive any injuries.
The home invasion comes two weeks after an 88-year-old woman was assaulted and robbed outside her Tustin home. Investigators are trying to determine if the cases are connected.
The crime is disturbing for people who live in the normally quiet Rossmoor neighborhood.
"It hits home when it's three houses away," said neighbor Nick De Prez.
"I'm not sitting with my door unlocked anymore, not after this. It's too easy for someone to walk in," said Rossmoor resident Joe Sherman.
The victim described the suspects as men in their 20s, standing about 5 feet 4 to 5 feet 6 inches tall. One wore white latex gloves. The other wore black gloves with white snowflakes. The suspects drove a small white pickup truck, possibly a Mazda.
A composite sketch of the suspect holding the gun was released Wednesday night.
If you have information related to the case, contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS.
