Authorities search hills in Marin County for home invasion suspects

NOVATO, Calif. (KGO) -- In normally quiet Marin County, this is a rare sight, and Monday morning, there were plenty of them. Armed officers blocking intersections and in the hills above, looking in and under everywhere, using dogs, and going house-to-house all in search or five armed suspects.

Imagine seeing it unfold in your front yard.

"I'll probably get out of here. No reason to stay," said Canena Piccinotti, who stood on her front porch in her bare socks. "My dogs bark loud. That's good, right now," she said.

The trouble began a little after 3 a.m. Monday. Sgt. Spencer Crum of the Sonoma County Sheriff's office says as many as nine suspects went on a rampage on Eugenia Drive, a private road in Petaluma. "It sounds like a group of armed men went door-to-door to three residences. They tied them up and pistol whipped them. They were looking for marijuana," Crum said.

That MO sounds eerily similar to a pair of home invasion robberies in Santa Rosa, last month. One resident died. The suspects in that case came from out of state before being arrested in Vallejo.

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In this one, the four suspects arrested, so far, appear to have come in from North Carolina. Again, looking for marijuana. "With legalization and now the prices down, availability is up, and everyone in the bay is now a soft target," said Sgt. Crum.

This morning, that appeared to be a suspected grow site on a private road.

"I think they made a wrong turn," said Warren Percell, who lives near the entrance. "Those are straight people in there. Working people."

"What do you make of this?" we asked.

"Astounded. I have lived here for 30 years. Nothing bad has happened. Worst think you might see is a turkey getting hit while crossing the road," Percell said.