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OGDEN — At least three men suspected of being involved in an early morning armed home invasion robbery were arrested Monday following a nearly five-hour standoff with Ogden SWAT members.
Mark Anthony Pizana, 24, Oscar Bermejo-Zaragoza, 18, and Lance Remus Hardy, 31, were booked into the Weber County Jail for investigation of aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. They are also suspects in a second home invasion incident that happened a few hours earlier, according to police.
The string of incidents began about 1 a.m. Monday when three men forced their way into a house near 2100 South and Tyler Avenue and demanded money and drugs, said Ogden Police Lt. Nate Cline. Investigators did not know Monday if the house was picked at random.
A man inside the house was assaulted but did not require medical attention, Cline said. A woman in the house was not injured. Undisclosed items were taken and the trio left.
About three hours later, Ogden police received a call of shots fired near 200 East and 30th Street. Several people wearing masks were seen forcing their way into a house at 243 30th Street. Cline said witnesses reported shots may have been fired outside the house. Cline said Monday that a vehicle may have been hit, but the shooting was still under investigation.
The home invaders in that incident also demanded drugs from the occupants inside the home, Cline said. Like the first house, Cline did not know Monday whether the second house was picked at random or not.
Arriving officers spotted a masked gunman outside the house who quickly ran back in when police arrived. Ogden Metro SWAT was called and officers surrounded the house.
As the standoff unfolded, police learned that the "occupants of the home were safely hidden within the home and contacted police via cellphone. Those victims, four adult males and three adult females were safely removed from the home, during the incident," Cline said.
Several hours later, four more people were removed from the house, including three suspects and one more occupant of the house, he said. At least one of the home's occupants was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries after being assaulted, Cline said.
Detectives were still trying to determine Monday if the two home invasion incidents are connected.
Hardy was previously convicted in 2009 of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison, according to court records.
Pizana was arrested in 2012 when a large house party in Clearfield hosted by a 16-year-old girl whose parents were out of town quickly got out of hand, drawing an estimated 170 people, including members of rival gangs. The rival gangs clashed outside the house and shots were fired, injuring several people. Pizana was convicted of rioting. He originally received a suspended prison sentence but was ordered to serve his original sentence of up to five years in the Utah State Prison in 2013 for violating his probation, according to court records.
