Police Question 2 In Connection With Home Invasions Targeting Elderly

Law enforcement officials asked for help on Thursday to crack a case of a string of home invasions targeting residents in their 70s and 80s.

Two people were behind bars on unrelated weapons charges and were being investigated in connection with at least four home invasions in east Columbus.

Jack Stephens said that he was sound asleep when he became a victim.

“This guy was standing over me, flashlight in one hand, gun in the other,” Stephens said.

Stephens said that a robber broke into his home, located on Upperridge Drive, by prying open his garage door.

The man said that he tried to fight back.

“Just as I was about to get the best of him, he came across the head with the gun,” Stephens said.

Nineteen days after he was assaulted, Stephens still had a bump on his head.

10TV News obtained a search warrant that revealed an investigation into four home invasions in May and June.

On May 31, a 71-year-old woman was robbed at gunpoint by a masked gunman.

A few blocks away, on June 20, two armed robbers came through an unlocked door and stole from an 80-year-old woman.

Just a few days after Stephens was attacked, police said that masked robbers ordered a couple onto the floor.

Police said that they uncovered a cordless phone handset under at tree that a victim of a home invasion said was stolen.

Investigators hoped that the phone would help build a case against two men arrested in the neighborhood on June 29. They were hopeful that fingerprints and DNA evidence would lead them to those responsible for the break-ins.

The search warrant revealed that both men had guns, black bandana, black gloves and three rolls of black duct tape.

Stephens said that he would make sure his garage door was locked before going to bed.

“I hope it never happens again,” Stephens said.

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