Suspected Hialeah Home Invasion Burglars Face Judge
MIAMI - (CBS4) - Two alleged burglars accused of breaking into a Hialeah home causing a 12-year-old girl to duck for cover in a closet faced a bond court judge Tuesday morning.
The judge set bonds for Michel Torres, 31, and Pedro Estrada, 35.
Torres has been charged with one count of burglary into an occupied dwelling and was held on $12,500 bond. Estrada has additional charges including grand theft of a vehicle and criminal mischief. He was ordered held on $25,000 bond.
The 12-year-old girl Cynthia Valdes was inside the Hialeah home Monday when the pair allegedly ransacked the home. The child called her father who told her to hide inside a bedroom closet and call 911.
By the time she had done so, the men had broken into the home.
Cynthia said at first she thought of the worst.
"They were gonna get me and take me away and I wasn't gonna see my parents again or anybody in my family," she said.
Fortunately that didn't happen. The young girl was able to remain calm enough to describe everything to police as it unfolded.
"It was very scary she was very scared on the phone," said Albert Gonzalez, her brother. "But she's a very strong courageous girl."
When officers arrived they say Torres and Estrada were running out of the front door of the home in the 900 block of West 79th Street. Investigators are questioning the pair to see if they can be linked to a host of similar crimes in the area.
Police, however, can't seem to say enough about the brave little girl.
"She did a great job, she did a phenomenal job," said Det. Eddie Rodriguez of the Hialeah Police Department. "She locked herself in a room. She was very quiet. She called 911."
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. )
