Couple held hostage for 3 hours in terrifying home invasion
TACOMA, Wash. - A husband and wife in their 60s were held hostage for three hours during a terrifying home invasion robbery as thieves ransacked and trashed their home and made off with thousands of dollars in cash and valuables.
At one point, the thieves stuffed the barrel of a gun into the husband's mouth, and he later said he thought he was going to die.
The drama unfolded in the middle of the afternoon Thursday at a home in the 7500 block of South Ainsworth Avenue in Tacoma.
The couple was watching TV when they heard shattering glass and were confronted by two men with blue bandannas over their faces who had smashed their way through a sliding glass door. One of them was armed with a handgun.
Once inside the home, the intruders confronted the husband and wife and held them hostage while they ransacked the home, looking for cash and valuables, said Lt. Jerry Lerum of the Tacoma police.
The robbers smashed picture frames throughout the house, pulled out drawers and scrawled gang signs inside one room.
Throughout the incident, they used a two-way radio to talk to a woman who was outside in a getaway vehicle.
At one point during the terrifying three-hour ordeal, the husband saw an opportunity and was able to escape. But one of the thieves chased him down, assaulted and kicked him in the legs, then dragged him back inside the house.
Throughout most of the ordeal the robbers kept a gun trained on the husband, Remegio Fernandez, who's a U.S. Army veteran.
"I didn't think I was going to get out of it alive because the gun was right into me the whole time," he said. "They even had me open my mouth and then he put the barrel of the gun into my mouth."
Finally, after the intruders had completely trashed the house, they fled with two large duffel bags stuffed with stolen loot, Lerum said.
The couple called 911 and police responded to the scene. Officers tried to track down the suspects using K-9 police dogs but were unsuccessful. The husband was treated for minor injuries to his legs.
The couple later told KOMO News that they live at the home with their 24-year-old daughter, but she was not home at the time of the robbery.
The daughter said she had $4,000 in cash in her room that she was saving up for a trip to the Philippines - but the robbers got away with every penny of it.
The thieves also took all the couple's jewelry, including the wedding rings right off their fingers.
Police are continuing to actively investigate. No suspect description was immediately available.
At one point, the thieves stuffed the barrel of a gun into the husband's mouth, and he later said he thought he was going to die.
The drama unfolded in the middle of the afternoon Thursday at a home in the 7500 block of South Ainsworth Avenue in Tacoma.
The couple was watching TV when they heard shattering glass and were confronted by two men with blue bandannas over their faces who had smashed their way through a sliding glass door. One of them was armed with a handgun.
Once inside the home, the intruders confronted the husband and wife and held them hostage while they ransacked the home, looking for cash and valuables, said Lt. Jerry Lerum of the Tacoma police.
The robbers smashed picture frames throughout the house, pulled out drawers and scrawled gang signs inside one room.
Throughout the incident, they used a two-way radio to talk to a woman who was outside in a getaway vehicle.
At one point during the terrifying three-hour ordeal, the husband saw an opportunity and was able to escape. But one of the thieves chased him down, assaulted and kicked him in the legs, then dragged him back inside the house.
Throughout most of the ordeal the robbers kept a gun trained on the husband, Remegio Fernandez, who's a U.S. Army veteran.
"I didn't think I was going to get out of it alive because the gun was right into me the whole time," he said. "They even had me open my mouth and then he put the barrel of the gun into my mouth."
Finally, after the intruders had completely trashed the house, they fled with two large duffel bags stuffed with stolen loot, Lerum said.
The couple called 911 and police responded to the scene. Officers tried to track down the suspects using K-9 police dogs but were unsuccessful. The husband was treated for minor injuries to his legs.
The couple later told KOMO News that they live at the home with their 24-year-old daughter, but she was not home at the time of the robbery.
The daughter said she had $4,000 in cash in her room that she was saving up for a trip to the Philippines - but the robbers got away with every penny of it.
The thieves also took all the couple's jewelry, including the wedding rings right off their fingers.
Police are continuing to actively investigate. No suspect description was immediately available.
