Man, 88, tied up and robbed in Bustleton home invasion
BUSTLETON (WPVI) -- Police are questioning two persons of interest in the home invasion robbery of an elderly man in the Bustleton section of Philadelphia.
It happened around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 9600 block of Chapelcroft Street.
88-year-old Pete Labuda, a widower who lives alone, tells Action News a woman in her 30s, someone he knows, knocked on the door and then, suddenly, two armed men stormed in behind her.
"They knocked me down. Tied me up, stole my car, my safe, $30,000 cash, my wife's jewelry, a lot of jewelry, her one ring was $100,000," Labuda said.
Fortunately, Labuda was not injured.
Labuda was able to untie himself and make his way to a neighbor's house.
He called police who launched a manhunt for the suspects.
The stolen vehicle, a 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood which belonged to his wife, was spotted by patrolmen on the 3200 block of Emerald Street in Port Richmond Wednesday afternoon; they immediately set up surveillance.
"Shortly thereafter, a couple of men had been wandering around the car. One of the males got into the car with a set of keys and attempted to leave. They converged on him, took him into custody," Philadelphia Police Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum said.
Rosenbaum said, upon further investigation, police went to a house the males were entering and exiting. That's when, he says, one of the men tried to flee out the back of the house.
"He ran into officers that were behind the house," Rosenbaum said.
The pair was brought to the police lockup at the Northeast Detective Division.
While police describe the two as persons of interest, they expect to formally charge them soon.They both deny any wrongdoing.
Police are still looking for the female they believe set Labuda up. The stolen vintage car was found at her home on Emerald Street.
Police have also seized a BMW belonging to one of the men being held.
Authorities are awaiting search warrants as the investigation continues.
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