A Holmes resident writes to ask what we know of a home invasion robbery in his community overnight. He says that news of the robbery has spread throughout the northern Avenue of the Giants area — a teacher at Agnes B. Johnson School in Weott told him about it this morning, he said.

We have a call in to the Sheriff’s Office requesting more information, but for now we can confirm that shortly before 4 a.m. a man on Holmes Flat Road called 911 to report that two masked males had forced their way into his home, tied him up and pushed him to the ground. Here’s Sheriff Office dispatch reporting the call to officers in the field:

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Moments later, dispatchers relayed further information from the victim to a deputy en route. Dispatch did not know, at the time, what had been stolen from the house, but the victim had in the meanwhile armed himself. He said that he had told his assailants that he was expecting someone to come to his house soon, at which point they left the scene.

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The incident was recored in the Sheriff’s Office calls for service log this morning, and a case number has been assigned. Again: We have a call into the Sheriff’s Office, and will update when more information becomes available.

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UPDATE: From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

At 3:55 this morning, the HCSO received a 911 call from an adult male located in the 500 block of Holmes Flat Road, Redcrest. The male victim reported he was just the victim of a home invasion style robbery at his residence.

When deputies arrived they learned from the victim that two unidentified male suspects entered his residence and pepper sprayed him before tying him up. The suspects claimed to have a firearm, but the victim did not see it. The suspects stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the victim’s wallet and then fled. A short time later, the victim was able to get free and call 911.

The suspects were last seen fleeing northbound on Holmes Flat Road in a white Toyota 4Runner, with a missing front bumper and unknown CA license plates. The suspects were described as both male and short in stature. Both suspect concealed their identities with masks.

The victim was unable to describe the suspects any further, likely due to having been pepper sprayed. The victim required minor first aid for the pepper spray exposure and was otherwise uninjured.

A BOLO has been issued for the suspect vehicle to all local law enforcement and the investigation is on-going. Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office regarding this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 707-268-2539.