CITY, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT TEAM UP TO CATCH SUSPECTS.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

Stepping up their efforts to find the culprits in a Nov. 17 home invasion robbery in which a woman was sexually assaulted, sheriff's deputies and Lancaster officials posted a billboard along Sierra Highway displaying a surveillance camera photo of one of the robbers.

It reads: "Wanted, $1,000 Reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of this suspect." It also shows a bank surveillance photo of a man using an automatic teller machine with a robbery victim's ATM card.

"We need all the help we can get," said Detective John Kalita, who is investigating the robbery. "The only way we can catch criminals is through community involvement."

The billboard, displayed on a sign that Martin Outdoor Advertising is providing rent-free, is expected to remain in that location for about a month, then move to other locations within the city if the suspects still have not been apprehended, officials said.

So far, sheriff's deputies have arrested one of three suspects in the robbery.

Curtis Daniels, 20, of Lancaster, suspected of committing the sexual assault, was arrested Dec. 8.

According to Kalita, deputies arrested Daniels after one of the residents identified him as an uninvited guest at a party at their home in the 600 block of East Woodington Drive a week before the robbery.

Daniels and his companions were ordered to leave because they were yelling a gang name and being disruptive, a sheriff's report states.

The Nov. 17 robbery began when three armed men entered through the unlocked front door, ordering the occupants to lay down.

After tying the victims' hands behind their backs, the gunmen taped their eyes and mouths shut and forced one of the victims to reveal his ATM code.

After temporarily forgetting the code number at the bank, the robber finally obtained the $300 maximum and returned to the home. The three gunmen then left. While the one robber was at the bank, the others kicked and beat the male occupant and sexually assaulted a 22-year-old woman, deputies said.

While the city has joined with the Sheriff's Department several times to distribute wanted posters, this is the first billboard to bear a suspect's photo, said Dennis Davenport, assistant city manager for the city of Lancaster.

"It's a good idea," said Davenport. "If we can catch people through any means - the better."

The city recently earmarked $5,000 for the Sheriff's Department to use as rewards in hard-to-solve cases.

"I think it's going to be an effective element," said Councilman Frank Roberts. "We don't want to place pictures of criminals all over the town - that's bad PR - but in cases like this it might provide that extra incentive."

Anyone who recognizes the suspect or has information regarding the case is asked to call Kalita at the Antelope Valley Sheriff's Station at [phone].

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Photo (color) The man in the billboard is a suspect in a home-invasion robbery. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News