Sacramento veteran ambushed in his home, entire life savings stolen at gunpoint
SACRAMENTO -- The home of a south Sacramento veteran was ambushed and his entire life savings were stolen in less than a minute earlier this month.
It happened around 1 a.m. on Jan. 2 at an apartment complex in the 6600 block of Pomegranate Avenue, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office confirmed.
The entire robbery was caught on Marlon Harris' home surveillance cameras. The videos captured the terrifying moments two masked men kicked in his front door and bolted for his bedroom.
"I see two guns. Both of them with guns," said Harris, showing CBS13 the video Tuesday night.
The Marine veteran was asleep in his bed when he awoke to the loud bangs.
"I can't do nothing. It's just a humble feeling. Somebody comes in your home and just takes control," he said.
The men clearly had a mission. They only took one thing: Harris' safe that was sitting on his bedroom shelf. While he says one man grabbed it, the other forced him to the ground at his bedside.
The terrifying moment can be heard on the surveillance video as Harris stops fighting.
"Okay, okay, okay," Harris can be heard saying to the armed men, one holding a gun to his head.
"He showed me the gun, put it like that," said Harris, gesturing to his temple. "I got on my knees, put my head down and said, 'This is how it's going to end.' "
His wife, who needs around-the-clock medical care, was asleep in the next bedroom over. The men did not enter her room.
Harris says he is lucky they are both alive, but is lamenting what they lost. The entirety of their life savings was in that safe, totaling more than $36,000 in cash.
"Now I've got to start over. I've got to try to put it behind me. It's a hurt. It's a big hurt," said Harris.
He and his wife have been saving that money for over 20 years, tucking it away for a rainy day and emergencies
It was all gone in the less than 20 seconds the two men were actually inside Harris' home.
In that safe, he also lost expensive jewelry, family heirlooms and important documents like his marriage license and family death certificates.
Harris hopes that by sharing his story now, maybe he could get some of it returned.
"At least some of my life savings back. That would be the best outcome. And they catch the perpetrators," he said.
He wants them caught before they possibly show up at someone else's front door.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office is actively investigating this but confirmed Tuesday there are no suspects identified yet.
Harris told detectives that both he and his wife rely on home caregivers, nurses who come in and out of their home. He said they are the only people who knew where that safe was. Harris fears one of them told someone, leading to this robbery.
All of that is part of the ongoing investigation.