Community Corner

Police Seek 5 Suspects in Home Invasion in Northford [Video]

Armed suspects hold family for several hours before leaving with cash, jewelry and television.

Updated at 5:20 p.m. on Aug. 15

North Branford Police press release:

On Aug. 15 at approximately 3 a.m., the North Branford Police Department received a 911 call from a Northford resident regarding a . Officers responded and located three victims, all family members, who were held for several hours against their will.

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The ordeal started at approximately 10:30 p.m. when two residents were approached by black males who had entered the residence through the garage. Both victims were ordered, at gunpoint, to the kitchen where their wrists were bound by zip ties and questioned by the suspects regarding valuables within the home.   

The victims were then directed to the basement and detained there by suspects with guns until approximately 1 a.m. when another family member returned home. This family member was then met in the garage area and was subdued by two black males. One of the suspects was holding a shotgun and the other a handgun. The suspects ordered the family member to the basement. 

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While in the basement, the suspects continued to question the family members regarding valuables within the home. They also attempted to force one of the family members to open a safe that was located in the basement area, but the victim was unable to get the safe to open. The suspects attempted to remove the safe from the residence, but they were unsuccessful. 

During the ordeal, the victims were able to determine there were five black males within the home. Four of them possessed weapons. Two suspects stayed with the victims in the basement area and the remaining three ransacked the main living area going through bedrooms and other areas. During the ransacking, a 3-year-old was asleep in a bedroom on the main level.

While in the home, the suspects removed an undetermined amount of cash, miscellaneous jewelry and a television.

The suspects once again secured the three victims with rope and placed them in a section of the basement and attempted to secure the door with a piece of rope. The victims waited until they no longer heard the suspects in the home and freed themselves. A family member went upstairs and retrieved the 3-year-old and they all left the residence. They drove to another family member’s home and called 911.

The victims stated all intruders were black males and provided descriptions of two of the males including one male approximately 6-feet tall, 230 pounds, facial hair and round face; and another male is reported to be approximately 6-feet tall, 180 pounds with a thin build. All suspects were wearing masks or bandanas across their faces and hooded sweatshirts. 

Upon leaving the residence, a vehicle belonging to a resident of the home was taken and located a short distance away.

Luckily, none of the victims were injured or harmed during the incident. 

Anyone with information may call Detective Onofrio or Sgt. McNamara at 203-484-2703.

 

Updated at 10:45 a.m. on Aug. 15

Driving through the back roads of Northford with open fields on either side of you, there’s a quiet, sleepy feel, particularly with the steady rain still coming down. But when you turn onto Autumn Court, an upscale neighborhood, that feeling quickly disappears as the street is lined with TV news crews and reporters’ cars leading up to a cul-de-sac. An officer stands at the top of a long driveway lined with more cars as major crime is investigating a home invasion at 17 Autumn Court in Northford.

The incident began around 10:30 p.m. last night, Aug. 14. Detective Sergeant Ken McNamara called the incident “brazen” as five black males wearing hoodies and bandanas on their faces, armed with guns and knives, broke into the home in an upscale Northford neighborhood.

“Oh yeah it was brazen–to come here in the middle of the night when it’s raining with handguns,” said McNamara. “The victims were scared, obviously.”

Major crime has not yet determined how the group entered the house. Upon entrance, they tied up the two occupants–a mother and daughter–putting them in a wine cellar, poking the daughter with a knife. Upstairs, a four-year-old slept through the entire incident, though the intruders had threatened to kidnap him.

In the midst of the invasion, the husband came home and was also tied up and put in the wine cellar. The invasion lasted until 3 a.m. Shortly after, the adults were able to free themselves and immediately tried to locate the child, who was still upstairs sleeping. They then called the police from a neighbor’s home as their phones were smashed.

The intruders took the homeowners’ truck, which was found just around the corner on Parsonage Hill Road. The incident is under investigation. More details to follow.

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The original story (9:09 a.m. on Aug. 15) follows:

The Hartford Courant and area news outlets have reported that a Northford family of five became victims of a home invasion just after 10:30 p.m. last night.

Reports state that five armed men took over 17 Autumn Court last night and tied up three residents while ransacking the home. Another resident came home during the invasion, reports the Courant, and that victim was also tied up. A child, they reported was sleeping during the incident and was left unharmed.

The Courant reports that the family was able to free themselves and call police around 3 a.m. Police have stated that the suspects stole the family's gray pick-up truck, which was later found in town.

The Courant reports that police believe all gunmen are black and were wearing bandannas. Two, they reported, are about six feet tall. Police are still looking for the suspects.


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