Police Seek Armed Intruders of Chevy Chase Home

Fleeing a Chevy Chase home taken over by armed intruders Monday night, a 40-year-old man first sought help next door, smashing a small window in the entryway with his hand in an attempt to get someone to open up. No response.

Then he ran across the narrow street, up a slate terraced walkway, and pounded with a bloody hand on another entryway window. Still nothing.

He finally found help at the home of a third neighbor, who let in the man -- bleeding, frantic, loosed from the cords that had bound his hands -- and called Montgomery County police.

Yesterday, investigators released images of a suspect in the attack who was videotaped retrieving cash with an ATM card stolen during the home invasion, which began about 9 p.m. Monday. Four or five intruders held the man, his wife and their two small children for 20 to 40 minutes in their stately, tile-roofed home in the 3700 block of Underwood Street.

One of the robbers attempted to sexually assault the woman, but police said none of the family members was seriously hurt.

Police received the first call to the scene from the next-door neighbor, who phoned to report a burglary in progress after the small window was smashed.

As officers arrived, the once-captive man told them that his wife, also 40, was inside with their 2-year-old child and 6-month-old baby. Seconds later, the woman emerged from the house, her hands bound.

Neither parent knew whether the robbers were still inside. Fearful for the children's safety, officers strapped on protective gear -- which included five-foot-long shields with peepholes -- and charged into the house.

"They grabbed the kids," said Lt. Eric Burnett, a police spokesman. "The kids were fine."

Canine units searched the home, but the robbers had fled.

The ordeal stunned the neighborhood of tree-lined streets out of storybook suburbia. Most houses have front porches but not front fences, and basketball hoops are set up so children can play in the street. Neighbors know one another. White House adviser Dan Bartlett lives nearby, according to property records. Police said they believe the home invasion is the first of its kind in the neighborhood.

Denise Joffe said yesterday that she was horrified at what had happened across the street from her house. She was home at the time but unaware of the invasion until police knocked on her door.