Torrance home invasion involved Colorado teen who is wanted for murder, police say

Two Colorado teenagers wanted on suspicion of murder and burglary were arrested Monday night in Torrance after allegedly breaking into a house and injuring an elderly woman, authorities said.

Torrance police were called at about 10:35 p.m. Monday to a house in the 3600 block of Sara Court by an “alert neighbor” reporting suspicious activity, said Torrance Police Sgt. Ronald Harris. When officers arrived, they heard a woman screaming and saw two males fleeing the home, Harris said.

The officers immediately detained one of the suspects. He was an 18-year-old Colorado resident wanted on a warrant for robbery there, Harris said.

The second suspect fled, and police searched for him for more than an hour, using a scent dog, Harris said. He was found hiding in the garage of the home that was invaded, authorities said.

He was a 17-year-old Colorado resident wanted on an outstanding murder warrant there, Harris said.

Denver police on Tuesday identified the murder suspect as Dmarco Jaquise Blake and said he is believed to have been involved with a violent “burglary ring” suspected in a man’s death.

Denver Police Commander Barb Archer said in a news conference that Blake is one of four people whom authorities have linked to seven burglaries or home invasions in the Denver area the night of May 15.

Just after midnight on May 16, Denver police were called to a burglary at a home on Spruce Street. When they arrived, they found 27-year-old Timothy Anderson dead inside the house, Archer said.

Anderson was shot to death, Denver-based 9News reported.

“It’s a very tragic case, a very sad situation — someone whose home is being burglarized and he ends up dead,” Archer said. “Our detectives have done extensive leg work on this. ... We worked hard on this one.”

Three other people have been arrested in Colorado in connection with the fatal burglary, Archer said. They are Demond Hamilton, 21; Keione Clark, 18; and a juvenile female, according to 9News.

Blake, Clark and Hamilton will be charged with first-degree murder and burglary, with a crime of violence used as a sentence enhancer, Archer said. Blake will be charged as an adult, she said.

The juvenile suspect, who turned herself in to police earlier this month, is being investigated as an accessory after the fact, according to 9News.

It is unclear whether the man arrested in California with Blake — whose name has not yet been released — is connected to the burglary ring.

In Torrance, the two suspects were driving a stolen vehicle from Colorado, according to the Torrance Police Department.

It was not immediately clear, Harris said, if they would be extradited to Colorado.

A 73-year-old woman who was in the home that was broken into suffered minor injuries, Harris said.

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UPDATES:

11:55 a.m. This article was updated throughout with more information from the Denver Police Department.

9:05 a.m. This article was updated with Dmarco Blake’s identity.

This article was originally published at 6:10 a.m.