Men Claiming To Be Police Rob Home In Rockland County
CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Rockland County are investigating a home invasion that happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Ramapo Police said three armed men dressed all in black with their faces covered showed up to the back door of 51 Sutin Place, a usually quiet block in Chestnut Ridge, just before 2 a.m.
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports
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"They yelled out 'Police! Police!' The homeowner, a 66-year-old woman, went out and looked. It was not the police," Ramapo Police Lt. Mark Emma told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
"At that time, obviously the woman and her daughter, who was now there, stopped any kind of resistance. They were both secured with plastic zip ties," Lt. Emma told Diamond.
Police the leader was a big man, between 300 and 400 pounds. He had a gun and demanded to know where money was kept in the house. After the women were tied up, the men foraged for cash and jewelry. They were gone in about 20 minutes. The daughter managed to free herself and call police, CBS 2's Lou Young reported.
"It's horrible. I hope they find the people quickly," neighbor Dini Franklin said.
One neighbor said he thinks the woman and her 33-year-old daughter were duped by the robbers.
"That's the problem here. Particularly if they're portraying themselves as policemen, most of these people will open the door quite readily," a neighbor told Diamond.
Nervous laughter and disbelief was all the neighbors could muster as they looked around their impossibly quiet neighborhood in Rockland County just north of the New Jersey state line.
"It's very weird. This is a good neighborhood. We keep our doors open," Bill Speiler said.
Which may have been how the home invaders got in so easily. Police said they are hoping someone saw the getaway car.
"You can sit here for an hour and not see a car come by. In fact, if a car does come by you'll usually take notice of it," neighbor Robert Whitmore said.
"It's a nice area. It's alarming. We're not sure if this was a targeted home, but it is something that we will look into, see if it was indeed targeted or just a random act," Lt. Emma said.
One neighbor said it's not out of the realm of possibility the family was targeted.
"I know she works in a jewelry store," the woman told WCBS 880's Diamond.
Police said there will be increased patrols in neighborhood following the incident.
Anyone with information can call the Ramapo Police Department at 845-357-2400 and ask for the Detective Bureau.
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