Robbers Assault Woman, Steal Thousands In Cash

Three armed men burst into a home, struck a woman over the head and stole thousands in cash last week.

Police are still searching for the suspects.

The violent home invasion robbery happened on Saturn Drive last Wednesday afternoon, according to Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

The woman who was assaulted said she was hit hard over the head with something but she didn't see what it was.

She was sent to Kaiser Hospital the same day, where she was treated and released.

There were other people in the house during the robbery aside from the suspects, but police didn't want to say who they were. But no one else got hurt, Nelson said.

The sheriff's office is investigating the crime, but Nelson said details and leads are limited at this point.

The detectives in charge of the investigation are not releasing any of physical descriptions of the robbers.

“That may be due to conflicting descriptions by witnesses or poor descriptions at this point or they may be working a lead so they don’t want to alert any suspects by releasing that info,” said Nelson.

What police do know is that all three suspects were armed.

Witnesses said it looked like all of them carried guns when they broke into the home and made away with thousands of dollars in cash and valuables before escaping in an unidentified car.

Just how much was taken?

A concerned Patch reader wrote in and said authorities told her that upwards of $20,000 in cash was stolen.

Nelson declined to comment on the amount, but he did say that most of what was taken was cash.

He also heard that $20,000 figure mentioned, he told Patch.

So did the thieves know that the cash was kept there?

“That’s the big question,” said Nelson. “Was this a target or was this random?”

The answer to that question will be central to the ongoing investigation, he added.

Nelson said that home invasion-style robberies are uncommon in Castro Valley.

The last Castro Valley home invasion robbery to make headlines happened in June 2010. It involved a similar number of armed burglars who stole a large amount of cash.

Castro Valley homeowners are encouraged to be vigilant.