Sherman Oaks Home Invasion Robbery May Have Targeted YouTuber

SHERMAN OAKS, CA — Police are looking for five home-invasion robbers who impersonated police officers to gain entry to the Sherman Oaks home, tying up and robbing the residents, Wednesday night. Reports from the scene claim the victim was YouTuber Spencer Elmer, but Patch was unable to confirm the identity of the resident.

Authorities were alerted when the victim showed up at a neighbor's door, tied up and wearing nothing but underwear. The robbery occurred about 10 p.m. Wednesday in the 4500 block of Tyrone Avenue, between Moorpark Street and Riverside Drive, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

One victim of the home invasion robbery said the suspects impersonated police officers, according to multiple broadcast reports. Up to five suspects made their way into the home, tied up the victims, then made off with cash and jewelry.

"We heard this banging on the door and it was one of the victims," neighbor Craig Mayo told reporters at the scene.

The victim was screaming, "Call the cops, call the cops."

"He was tied up, had a tie around his wrist, in his underwear, scared, obviously, so we called the police," Mayo said.

The man was bleeding from his wrists because he had to break free from the ties to escape, Mayo added.

Police did not identify the victim, but a news photographer at the scene said it was Elmer, who runs the YouTube channel Elmo Films. With nearly 240,000 subscribers to his channel, Elmer launched two years ago with an introductory video that included a scene of a an armed robbery of what appears to be college-aged kids. In the video, Elmer said he's a high school dropout who moved to Los Angeles from England "to break the mold."

A detailed description of the suspects was not immediately available.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.