Masked men escape suspected marijuana-related home invasion robbery

GUERNEVILLE (BCN) - Four males wearing masks broke into a Guerneville home and tied up

and beat the residents in a suspected marijuana-related home invasion robbery early Friday morning, a Sonoma County sheriff's sergeant said.

A man called the sheriff's office around midnight to report several men with guns were beating someone up inside the house in the 21000 block of River Lane, Sgt. Cecile Focha said.

The man told the dispatcher he heard gunshots before he escaped out a window, hid in a vineyard and saw a car speed away, Focha said.

The suspects were gone before the first deputy arrived about five minutes later, Focha said. No one in the house occupied by seven people, including two children, had serious injuries, Focha said.

The victims said they heard yelling and banging at the front door, and the masked intruders broke windows to enter the house when they couldn't get in the front door, Focha said.

The men demanded money, tied up one person and assaulted two others, Focha said.

Deputies recovered unspent rounds but did not find shell casings outside the house, Focha said. Deputies recovered several plastic tubs, some filled with marijuana buds and some empty, that were strewn about the driveway, Focha said.

The incident is still under investigation.