Woman feared for life during home invasion

Police continue to seek men who terrorized Manalapan resident

BY AMY ROSEN Staff Writer

MANALAPAN — When the residents of a Terence Drive home moved here from the Bronx, N.Y., 26 years ago, they had an alarm system installed.

Coming to the suburbs from the city, where being conscientious about security was a way of life, they never imagined that one day they would have to rely on the alarm system to keep them safe, but they installed it anyway for peace of mind.

That investment paid off Feb. 21 when the alarm system from Bullet Security in Rockland County, N.Y., helped protect the woman of the house from being the possible victim of a bullet during a home invasion.

The News Transcript is not printing the woman’s name.

She said in an interview this week that everyone should be vigilant about keeping safe, even at home.

The 55-year-old woman said that at about 10:40 a.m. Feb. 21 — a Saturday morning — she was awakened by the doorbell ringing shortly after her husband and daughter had left the home.

She initially ignored the doorbell, but when it became persistent she got up, went downstairs and looked out the window of the front door. What she saw was a huge bouquet of flowers of many different colors.

Since the woman was still recuperating from a medical procedure done in January, she thought it was possible that someone had sent her get-well wishes. Still groggy from being awakened, she neglected to deactivate the home’s alarm system before opening the door. When she opened the door, chaos ensued.

The woman said that before she could realize what was happening, two men wearing white face paint pushed her back and stormed into her house. She said she was thinking, “What an unusual presentation for flowers because they had costumes on.”

A man who she described as tall, about 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 11 inches in height, with a very narrow frame, covered her mouth with a gloved hand and put a gun to her temple with the other hand.

She said she started to scream, “What are you doing? What are you doing?” while she was trying to push her assailant’s hand away from her mouth. She said she was also trying to push the gun away from the side of her head.

According to the victim, the man who was holding her yelled, “I am going to kill you. You better stop screaming and stop talking. I am going to kill you.”

She said the other assailant, who she described as being a shorter, chubbier man with a round face, yelled, “You better listen to him. He will kill you. He will kill you.”

That is when the house alarm went off.

The woman said she then realized a third man was in the entranceway of the home. She said he told his two accomplices, “Guys, we have to get out of here, that’s the house alarm.”

At that point the man who was holding the woman let her go and all three men left the home. She said they fled in a dark compact car. The entire incident was finished in under a minute.

It was then that the reality of the situation began to sink in and she ran to call 911, but the alarm company’s central station had already reported the break-in to the Manalapan Police Department. Police officers arrived at the woman’s home within two minutes.

Nothing was reported stolen from the home and no one was physically injured.

The victim described the three male assailants as wearing white face paint, gloves, dark suits and hats. At least one hat had a brim and she stated that the whole disguise reminded her of a combination of a mime and a character from “The Blues Brothers.”

She explained that because of the large bouquet of flowers, she did not see anything but flowers when she opened the door. She never saw a face at that point.

She said the assailants’ stature and manner of speaking gave her the sense they may have been between 18 and 20 years old. The woman said the intruders were well spoken and did not use any profanity.

According to the woman, when the police officers arrived, a flower was found in the driveway, but no bouquet was located.

Manalapan police Capt. Chris Marsala said he could not confirm or deny the woman’s comment about the flower due to the ongoing investigation. He said he could not comment on whether there may be suspects in the case for the same reason.

If they are captured, the suspects could face charges of aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and theft, according to a press release from the Manalapan police.

Anyone with information relating to this incident is asked to contact Manalapan Detective Thomas Mantle at 732-446-4300.

The victim credited her home’s alarm system with saving her from a far worse ordeal than the terror she experienced that day.

She advised people not to answer the door without being certain who is outside and she said she would encourage parents to teach children that as well. She encouraged people to make sure they are secure and to take precautions at all times.

The resident described herself and her family as average, hard-working, community minded people. She said she has no idea why she was targeted or what the suspects were looking for.

The woman credited Mantle and the Manalapan Police Department for being very responsive to her situation. She said she hopes the police catch the suspects. The woman said all residents should try to work together to be aware of what is going on around them and to keep the town safe.

“We live in a wonderful neighborhood; let’s try to keep it that way,” she said.