'Scream' Mask Shooter Gets 48 Years For Santa Monica, Southland Burglary Spree

SANTA MONICA, CA — A man who wore a "Scream" mask during a failed home-invasion robbery, in which he shot a Santa Monica homeowner, was sentenced Monday to nearly 47 years in prison for a two-week string of robberies he carried out in 2016.

Vacho Shahen, 39, of Las Vegas, was convicted in May of 15 charges, including three counts each of home invasion robbery and assault with a firearm, four counts of first-degree burglary and five counts of false imprisonment, stemming from the crime spree in Downey, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica over a two-week period in August 2016.

Shahen's crimes were "extremely sophisticated and well-planned," Superior Court Judge Henry Hall said. Shahen was sentenced to 46 years and eight months in state prison.

Shahen struck early in the morning, breaking in to homes in Downey and Beverly Hills, where he handcuffed the residents. The victims in Downey were left in handcuffs after he fled the scene, according to Deputy District Attorney David Borsack.

The homeowner told KTLA Shahen was wearing a mask similar to the one famously used in the "Scream" film franchise.

His final crime in the spree was in Santa Monica. Officers responded to a "shots fired" call at an Adelaide Drive home; when they arrived they discovered the homeowner had been shot once in the torso. The victim survived after being treated at a local hospital, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

A multi-year investigation, aided by DNA evidence, linked the crime to the Beverly Hills robbery and two incidents in Downey. Shahen was arrested in Philadelphia in 2018, according to police.

Jurors acquitted Shahen of an attempted murder charge involving the shooting of the man during the Santa Monica burglary, but found him guilty of the less serious crime of assault with a firearm. The defendant was also acquitted of an additional robbery charge involving one of the crimes in Downey.

City News Service contributed to this report.