Home invasion robbery puts man, 86, in hospital

A violent home invasion robbery in a Camarillo neighborhood has police searching for three men who stole an undisclosed amount of cash from an elderly couple on the evening of Feb. 1, police said.

According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, three masked men wearing dark clothing came into a home in the 500 block of Via Del Cerro, in the Las Posas Estates area just north of city limits, around 6:30 p.m. Monday and forced the homeowners—Marvin Canter, 86, and his wife, Jeanette, 85—to open their safe and give the men a large amount of cash.

The burglars threw Marvin Canter down on the ground, where a deputy responding to the 911 call found him “face down in a pool of blood because his nose hit the floor,” said Capt. Ross Bonfiglio, a sheriff’s department spokesperson.

The thieves then forced Jeanette Canter to open the safe before they left the home, police said. She called the police, and her husband was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard to be treated for his injuries.

Jeanette Canter was treated for moderate injuries by paramedics at the scene, according to reports. Marvin Canter returned home from the hospital by Tuesday morning, police said.

Bonfiglio would not say if weapons were used in the robbery and said it is “50-50” that there was another person who drove the getaway car.

Bonfiglio said the robbery is being investigated by detectives with the Major Crimes Unit and that they are releasing limited details as they continue with the early stages of their investigation.

Although he could not say whether the couple were specifically targeted by the burglars, Bonfiglio said there’s a “very good possibility” that the burglars knew the couple kept a safe with cash inside their home. The captain did confirm that there was not any jewelry or guns inside the safe.

Bonfiglio said home invasion robberies are “statistically extremely rare” in Ventura County.

Peter Connolly, who lives next door to the Canters, said the couple had lived in the neighborhood for at least 20 years.

Connolly said he was home at the time of the robbery and did not hear anything.

“It’s quite unfortunate,” Connolly said. “Hopefully it’s an isolated incident.”

Connolly said Marvin Canter is a retired accountant.

He said the quiet block of estate homes is “a safe place” and that he’s not worried about a similar incident happening there anytime soon.

Carrie McDonagh, who lives down the street from the Canters, said she has never heard of a robbery on Via Del Cerro since she moved there four years ago.

She said, though, that she remains vigilant about her home’s safety. “I worry all the time,” McDonagh said. “We live in a climate where crime is everywhere.”

Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crime and who has not yet come forward to call (805) 477-7000.