Five people suspected in a series of Tacoma home-invasion robberies that targeted Asian families were ordered held Tuesday as prosecutors prepare to charge them.
They have been summoned back to court Thursday for arraignment.
Azias Ross, Azariah Ross, Nolan Chouap, Alicia Ngo and Soy Oeung are between 18 and 22, and are members or associates of the Original Loco Boyz gang, prosecutors contend.
Police believe the five robbed Cambodian, Filipino and Vietnamese families at gunpoint in their homes in seven robberies between Jan. 25 and Aug. 26.
In several of the robberies the families were tied up as their houses were ransacked. Suspects took $20,000 in cash and $10,000 in gold and jewelry in one case.
Azias and Azariah Ross and Ngo recently sold gold and jewelry to pawnshops and gold dealers, prosecutors said. Some of those items were confirmed by the victims to have been stolen during the robberies, court records show.
Prosecutors also said Azias Ross can be heard speaking to some of the other suspects about the robberies during phone calls from jail, and cellphone records also place the suspects at the scenes.
Victims identified Chouap as one of the robbers, prosecutors said.
alexis.krell@thenewstribune.com
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