Elderly Victims Were Bound in Five Robberies in Montgomery and D.C.
By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 8, 2008
An armed man wearing military-style fatigues forced open the back door of a home in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area yesterday morning, Montgomery County police said. He crept into an elderly couple's bedroom, police said, showed them a pistol and tied them up, fleeing about an hour later after taking valuables.
Detectives said they think the attack, which began about 2:30 a.m. on Brookside Drive in the Kenwood neighborhood, could be linked to four others since September. The victims in each case were elderly residents -- one was 92 -- in homes in exclusive areas. All were bound. One woman was shoved to the floor; the intruder struck the female victim yesterday.
Police said each of the victims described the assailant as a Hispanic man, based in part on his accent. Victims in previous attacks described him as being of medium build and in his 20s.
Yesterday's incident occurred in an area known for million-dollar homes and cherry trees whose stunning blossoms draw thousands of spectators every spring.
The assailant wore a bandanna across his face, police said. The victims, described as being in their 70s, were still bound when he fled. They freed themselves and called police about 5:40 a.m. Police arrived quickly and in large numbers, neighbors said.
"I didn't know Montgomery County owned so many squad cars," said Bob Shaffer, president of the Kenwood Citizens Association, who witnessed the response.
The victims declined to be interviewed yesterday. Shaffer described the married couple as quiet and laid-back but active in neighborhood issues. Before the attack, he said, the woman was scheduled to dance in a neighborhood version of the Capitol Steps, a satirical music group, at Kenwood Golf and Country Club.
Another neighbor described the couple as friendly and well dressed and said the man had a habit of wearing a sports coat when he walked his dog, even on weekends. Neighbors said the husband and wife work for the federal government.
Although detectives haven't definitely linked the attacks, said Lt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman, they're "looking at these as a group." Investigators talked to at least one of the previous victims yesterday afternoon.
In February, a 78-year-old woman was confronted outside her home on Picasso Lane in Potomac. The assailant forced her into her house and took valuables, including her car, police said.
The woman was discovered, still tied up, two days later, when her daughter went to check on her. Police said she was taken to a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening. Two neighbors said the victim's hands still bother her.
"This guy really knows the territory," said one of her neighbors, suggesting that the attacker was familiar with residents' routines. "He knew exactly what was going on."
In January, a man entered the kitchen of a house on 49th Street NW in the District, in the Foxhall area, where he tied up an 84-year-old man and an 85-year-old woman.
In November, on Montgomery Street in Chevy Chase, a man pried off bars and crawled through a basement window, the 77-year-old victim said in an interview yesterday. She asked not to be named to protect her privacy and safety.
The woman said she was watching television at the time in the home where she has lived for decades. The power went off, she said, and she went to the basement to check on it. The assailant then pushed her from a side room, she said.
He tied her hands and legs with clothesline, the victim said. She said she complained of the pain.
"That hurts my knee," she recalled saying. "I have arthritis."
The man loosened her bound legs, she said, and she was relieved that he didn't seem intent on hurting her. "He wasn't nice, but he wasn't mean," she said.
After the man went upstairs, she said, she was able to wiggle out of the clothesline. She said she acted as if she was still bound until he crawled back out through the window.
Authorities say they are concerned that future victims might be seriously harmed, particularly if they are left bound during hot summer months, a concern shared by the victim of the November attack.
"The longer you lie there and you can't get loose, the more likely it is that something bad could happen," she said.
Patricia Harris, a physician who specializes in geriatrics at Washington Hospital Center, said the physical and psychological stresses of such an event could trigger a heart attack in a person with a heart condition. In addition, she said, staying still for a day or more could lead to rhabdomyolysis, a form of muscle breakdown that can cause kidney failure.
Still, the doctor noted that many people who are 75 or older are hearty and withstand falls that leave them stationary for a day or more. "They're not well" when they're found, she said, "but they recover."
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