Home intruders tie up couple, torment them for hours, Pennsylvania officials say
.jpeg "Three men in Pennsylvania have been arrested after authorities say they broke into a home, tormented a couple for hours, then posed for photos with stolen money and items.")
Three men in Pennsylvania have been arrested after authorities say they broke into a home and tormented a couple for hours.
Louis Armstrong, Julio Jaje Mendoza and Axel Ramon Reyes are each charged with multiple counts of felony robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, terroristic threats, simple assault and possession of an instrument of crime, according to court records.
McClatchy News reached out to Reyes’ attorney for comment on March 28 but did not immediately hear back. Attorneys for Armstrong and Mendoza were not listed in court records.
On Jan. 8, the Easttown Police Department responded to a home for a report of a home invasion where three armed men, wearing all black and masks, broke into a home in Chester County, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“The husband and wife woke up to one of the greatest nightmares that anyone could ever imagine: intruders in their homes. It was the start of 2 1/2 hours of sheer torment,” Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said, according to WPVI.
One of the men had an assault rifle and two had handguns, and they were in the home for hours, the affidavit said.
The men told the couple they had the couple’s daughter and showed them a photo of the daughter on their phone, officials said.
In an attempt to get the men to leave, the husband told the men his money was in a safe at his business. The men then blindfolded the couple, tied their hands and drove the couple to their business, where the husband gave them $19,500 in cash, court records said.
They then drove them back to their home, where the men ransacked the house stealing more cash, jewelry, and other items, authorities said.
The men tied the couple up and left them in the attic before taking off with $27,00 in cash and jewelry, as well as the couple’s black Mercedes, WPVI reported.
Investigators used license plate readers to track the Mercedes to Philadelphia. They also were able to track a pair of Apple Airpods that were stolen, officials said. They found the vehicle in northeast Philadelphia on Jan. 10.
Authorities executed a search warrant on Jan. 24 at a home in Philadelphia.
Investigators said they found stolen clothes and rings and $13,351 in cash inside the home. They also found cellphones belonging to Mendoza and Reyes, court records said. Looking through the phones, officials say they found incriminating text messages and photos.
“I got black clothes for you to (wear) if you don’t got none,” one message from Mendoza said, according to officials. “All you need is a mask.”
Investigators said they also found photos and videos with one of the men lying on the couple’s car holding up money and others showing stolen items.
This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Home intruders tie up couple, torment them for hours, Pennsylvania officials say."
