House-sitters report robbery at gunpoint by three intruders

STAFF REPORT

BOARDMAN — Two house-sitters at a Brandon Avenue home reported three men, one with a gun, entered the home and robbed them.

The women, both in their 20s, told police they were in the home about 11:30 p.m. Sunday watching television when three men came through the door that leads from the basement. One of the men had a long gun.

The man pointed the gun at the women and told them to give them their things, taking one woman’s purse and the other’s wallet.

They took a cell phone and $15 from the one woman’s purse and gave it back to her.

The man put the gun to the other woman’s back to get her cellular phone. While one man kept the gun pointed at the women, the other two went through the home collecting items including a flat-screen television and video-game units.

The women said they were held for between 10 and 15 minutes. They told police they believed there were other people in the vehicles outside of the home.

The men threw one woman’s cell phone back to her as they were leaving but kept the other. After the suspects left, in an older white car and a silver Jeep, the women called 911.

The women described all three robbers as dark-skinned black men. The man with the gun was 24 to 25 years old, between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet 1 inch tall with a thin build, wearing black clothing, they said.

A second man was about 24, between 5-feet-6-inches and 5-feet-7-inches tall with a thin build. He wore black clothes, a white bandanna over his face and a black hat, the women said.

They described the third man as heavyset, about 21 and 5-feet-7-inches tall and wearing black clothing.

The women told police they were watching the house and caring for the dog while the homeowners, who are friends of theirs, were out of town.