East Ridge police are investigating a home invasion robbery that happened last Friday in the Bimini Place Apartments.
According to a police report, officers responded to 3121 Bimini Place just before 4:30 p.m. and were waved down by an Hispanic man in the parking lot. The man immediately showed police cuts on his back and told them that two men with guns and knives tied up he and his family, beat them and stole almost $4,000 from his home.
According to the report there the victim’s sister visiting from Florida was inside the apartment along with her three children and another male friend. All three of the adults had cuts and bruising on their backs from two attackers. All three adults refused medical treatment.
The victim told police that he pulled up to his house after getting off from work and going to the bank. When he went to his front door he noticed an older model white cargo van with dull paint parked in front of his house. When he began to open the door a masked man in all black clothing put a gun to his neck and followed him into the house where his family was gathered. The masked man was joined by a second masked intruder. Both the men were wearing black jumpsuits, he said. The jumpsuits appeared to be stuffed with some material making it difficult for the victim to give police an accurate description of the size of the attackers.
The report states that the victim said the attackers were speaking Spanish. The suspect with the pistol spoke “choppy” Spanish with an odd English accent, the victim told police The other masked man held a kitchen knife with a wooden handle. The victim was adamant that the suspect with the knife was Mexican, as he used slang words and had a dialect reflecting his nationality, the report states.
The report states that the intruders threw zip ties to the victims in the house and applied them to their wrists as restraints. The family was ordered into a bedroom before the intruders ordered the adults one at a time into the living room. Each of the adults were cut on their backs with the knife and struck with a gun on the back. The victim told police that the intruder with the gun put it to their heads and threatened to kill the man’s sister first if they didn’t tell them where the money was.
According to the victim, one of the attackers told him that they followed him home from his bank and they knew he had lots of money. The victim told police that he gave the intruders all his cash, $2,175. One of the attackers demanded more money, claiming he knew the victim “earned bigger checks.” The report states that the man’s sister handed over $600 and her male friend produced $1,000.
The report states that after the intruders got the money they left in the white van. The victims were able to remove the zip ties restraining their hands.
The report states that the victim has lived at the address for a few months and that the apartment had been vacant for an extended period of time before he rented it.
A BOLO was put out on the white van, the report states. The victim told investigators that he has about 30 employees that have worked for him over the last few months. He said it was possibe that an ex-employee could have participated in the home invasion robbery. The victim works for a contracting company, according to the report.
The investigation is ongoing, the report states.
