California Teen Allegedly Helped Set Up Robbery at Father's Home, Prosecutors Say
— -- A California teen was allegedly the mastermind behind a May home invasion robbery at his father’s home, prosecutors said.
Simerjeet Singh, 17, who was arraigned Friday, was charged with felony first-degree burglary and robbery in Santa Clara County Superior Court in connection with the May 8 incident, Deputy District Attorney Madeline Seiff said.
The other suspects -- suspected gang members, according to prosecutors -– were identified as Moses Perez Herrera, 17; Alvaro Valdivia, 16; and Moses Noel, 22.
All of the suspects are being charged as adults, Seiff said.
Prosecutors said that two of the suspects broke into the San Jose home, while a third person was waiting in a getaway car. Singh wasn’t at his father’s home during the burglary, and doesn’t live in the home, prosecutors say.
The burglary was partially captured on home surveillance cameras, authorities said.
The men, armed with knives, could be seen trying to kick in a door. Two terrified women and a 1-year-old girl were on the other side of the door.
As one woman dialed 911, the suspects took off.
No one was hurt.
“I don't really know what his intention was. He was there to kidnap or kill or hurt or I don't know," homeowner Bikram Singh told ABC News affiliate KGO-TV in the days following the break-in. "They got a few knives from the kitchen, all ready to kill or hit or hurt someone."
Following the incident, Singh said his relatives had not fully recovered from the harrowing incident.
“They’re very, very scared, especially when they were holding a 1-year-old child in their hands,” he said. “Anything could have gone wrong.”
Investigators say one of the suspects claimed that the real mastermind of the operation was the homeowner’s 17-year-old son.
If convicted, Singh, who is being held on $200,000 bail, and the other suspects could face decades in prison.
