Parkesburg police probe home invasion

PARKESBURG >> Police are searching for a home invasion robbery suspect who tied up an elderly victim – the second incident that occurred this month in Chester County.

Parkesburg police are investigating the home invasion robbery that occurred late in the afternoon on Feb. 17 in the 300 block of Strasburg Avenue.

Police said the suspect reportedly forced his way into the residence after he knocked on the victim’s door and asked her for a drink. Police said the suspect then reportedly tied the elderly victim up and stole her money before he left.

The victim described the suspect to police as a tall, thin black man in his 20s. At the time of the incident, he was wearing blue jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt. Investigators released a sketch of the suspect.

Parkesburg police said they also are reviewing video surveillance from the area.

Andrea Rogers, 35, a native of Parkesburg, said that the area has gotten worse with an increase in crimes. She said she was surprised that an elderly woman was attacked and robbed, but she was not surprised when she learned of a violent crime in the borough.

“It’s surprising that someone would actually go into someone’s home,” Rogers said about the attack with the resident home at the time. “That typically doesn’t happen around here.”

She is worried for her neighbors, many of them elderly.

“It makes you feel a little unsafe,” Rogers said, who added that she is locking her doors when she’s home during the day with her children.

Police in Chester County have investigated recent home invasions, including one on Feb. 22 in East Brandywine in a remote part of the township north of Downingtown. East Brandywine police said the woman had just returned home when a man

grabbed her from behind and hit her on the head. Investigators say the suspect then bound the unconscious woman and stuffed her in a closet in her home for four days until a relative found her on Feb. 26. Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced on Thursday the arrest of a 17-year-old juvenile in connection with the incident.

Lauren McClay, 32, said that if the Parkesburg crime was committed by someone local, she thinks the police will catch them soon, especially if tips come from the community. She said the police do a good job in the areas they serve, and that it is hard to handle the increase in crime. She is surprised by the crime and said that elderly people are unable to defend themselves against young people, as in this case.

“It’s horrible that it was an elderly person who was victimized,” McClay said.

She said she was surprised to hear about the home invasion robberies in East Brandywine and Parkesburg.

“This town is not what it was when I was growing up. It’s changed a lot over the years,” McClay said, a Parkesburg native. “I feel like more bad people have moved in over the years, just like a lot of small towns

around here.”

She said the Coatesville area has seen an increase in violent crime. She said she is being more cautious of locking her doors during the day when she is home with her children.

“I think it’s really gutsy to do a home invasion in broad daylight,” McClay said.

Melissa Sabo, 31, said she was at the bus stop up the street waiting for her son around the time of the attack, but did not notice anything out of the ordinary.

“Of course, I wasn’t looking for anything either,” Sabo said.

In the six years she has lived in the area, she has not heard of such a crime happening that local before.

“It’s scary that he could barge in like that,” Sabo said.

She said more home invasions are occurring in the county, but it still surprises her and scares her because “it was so close to home.”

Sabo said Parkesburg is

mostly quiet and “not much goes on.” Her neighbor, Nick Popov agreed and said “it’s a quiet street.” Popov, 30, has heard of crimes in other sections of the borough, like downtown, but “not up here.”

He said it is “frightening” because his wife and children are home during the day.

Prior to that incident, two armed individuals committed a home invasion robbery in January in Uwchlan, in the Downingtown area. The men, armed

with stun guns and handguns, demanded money and other valuables before they rampaged the home.

Police ask that anyone with information to contact Detective Craig Yeckley at the Parkesburg Police Department at 610-857-3535.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY PARKESBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT Parkesburg police are investigating a home invasion robbery that occurred on Feb. 17. The victim described the suspect to police as a tall, thin black man in his 20s. At the time of the incident, he was wearing blue jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt....