Frauds, Fakes, Or Fabulous
Aug 28, 2008 9:36 am US/Eastern
Armed Robbers Terrorize Family For Hours
One arrested, others sought in abduction and robbery
Gary Nelson
SWEETWATER (CBS4) ―
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The Sweetwater pawn shop at the center of a bizarre case in which a family was held captive by suspects waiting for the safe to open.
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The elderly mother of the pawn shop owner is helped by a police officer.
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The red SUV which the suspects used to take the family from their home to the pawn shop.
CBS
One person sits in jail accused of terrorizing a family during a robbery on Tuesday night. But, police in Sweetwater say there are still others who participated in the all-night robbery still on the loose.
On Tuesday night, Sweetwater Police said Ricardo Concepcion was followed home Tuesday night from his jewelry store at 11046 W. Flagler Street. Four handgun-wielding robbers burst into his rose-colored house near Coral Way, believing the jeweler would have a large amount of money. He didn't.
Police said the bandits ordered Concepcion to take them back to the jewelry store and open the safes. But there was problem: The safes at the store have timers on them that won't allow them to be opened during overnight hours.
Sweetwater Police Chief Roberto Fulgueira said that about 8 a.m. Wednesday the robbers made Concepcion return to the jewelry store, taking his wife and mother along. The women were bound with flex cuffs and made to lie down in the rear of the family's SUV.
The robbers worked over the storeowner, Fulgueira said. "They were just beating him, putting the fear of God into him, trying to learn where the stuff was, where he had money hidden. They beat him pretty good," the chief said.
At the store, two gunmen went inside with the owner, leaving his family cowering in the SUV.
As the bandits scooped up diamonds and gold, police say Concepcion was able to activate a silent alarm. Sweetwater Police caught the bandits as they left the store, allegedly carrying two duffel bags and a garbage can filled with jewelry.
"Our people were here within 60 seconds of getting the alarm," Fulgueira said. "They did a fine job of taking down a pair of very dangerous men."
Fulgueira said two accomplices, who had waited at a safe distance outside the store, managed to escape undetected. The police chief himself discovered the women, bound in the back of the SUV.
A doctor examined all three victims after the ordeal. None suffered major injury.
Detectives interviewed the two suspects at the Sweetwater police station for hours Monday, and let one of them go. Police continue to investigate the case, but anticipate being able to identify the accomplices in the case.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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