MIAMI COUNTY, Kan. — A week after intruders stormed the home of a woman in Hillsdale, Kan., the victim and neighbors are relieved to hear all three suspects are now behind bars.
On Thursday, the woman just couldn’t bear an on-camera interview with FOX 4. But, in a long, off-camera conversation she fought through a tearful conversation and told FOX 4’s Robert Townsend about the frightening crime that has now changed her life.
The 63-year-old woman said last Tuesday she was home alone in this rural area of Miami County when three intruders opened her side door. She rushed inside her house. The victim told said one of the guys was armed with a knife, held her down and said ‘Don’t look, don’t move and if you be still I won’t hurt you.’ She said the man covered her eyes with his arm the entire time.
The crime has angered the woman’s neighbors. Gary Robertson knows the victim and her husband.
“That’s the way they want to do it, surprise an old lady. What cowards. I bet she is shook up, scared.” Robertson said.
Police said the home invasion happened early in the afternoon along Old Kansas City road in Miami County. The victim said before the three suspects left her home, one of them tied her wrists with cell phone cords and blindfolded her with a dish towel. The scared woman freed herself and called police. The homeowner heard the suspected home invaders hop in a vehicle and speed away with her money and jewelry.
The 3 jailed suspects are: 51-year-old Ruben Borden-Vasallo of Cleveland, Ohio, 21-year-old Brian Romero of Kansas City, Kansas and 23-year-old Julio Iris-Rivera of Kansas City, Missouri. The victim’s neighbors relieved she wasn’t physically hurt.
The suspects face a variety of charges, from kidnapping, aggravated robbery, burglary to interfering with law enforcement. They’re scheduled to go to court next week.