Three gunmen from Philly broke into a Chester County couple’s home, stealing cash, clothing and a car, police say
Axel Reyes, Julio Mendoza and Louis Armstrong later posed with the stolen items. Police say those images, and videos they filmed during the home invasion, helped lead to their arrest.
Three Philadelphia men forced an Easttown Township couple, at gunpoint, to hand over $27,000 in cash, as well as guns, their Mercedes sedan, and other valuables during a violent home invasion in January, prosecutors in Chester County said Thursday.
Afterward, the suspects took photos with the pilfered items, smiling as they fanned the money out while leaning on the stolen car, and posing with a designer Omega watch taken from the couple, according to court filings.
It was those photos, as well as videos of the robbery that authorities say the three recorded as it unfolded, that led to their arrests this week for burglary, robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy, simple assault, and related crimes.
Louis Armstrong, 20, and Axel Reyes, 21, of North Philadelphia, and Julio Mendoza, 21, of Kensington, planned the Jan. 7 robbery over text message days in advance, according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests. All three remained in custody Thursday, in lieu of $2 million bail for Armstrong and $2.5 million for Reyes. Mendoza was in custody in Philadelphia in connection to an unrelated criminal case in which he’s charged with receiving stolen property.
It was unclear if Armstrong and Mendoza had hired attorneys. Reyes’ attorney, Melissa Berlot McCafferty, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Mendoza was the ringleader, prosecutors said, and was supported by Reyes, his cousin. Armstrong was brought in to assist in the heist. Mendoza and Reyes, in discussing the home invasion, mentioned they were “broke” and that they needed to carry out their plan soon, according to the affidavit.
A spokesperson for the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday that it remained unclear why the trio targeted the couple. Mendoza had a video on his phone, recorded Jan. 1, that showed the interior of the victims’ home, as well as the basement and driveway, according to the affidavit.
The couple was awakened at 2 a.m. on the day of the robbery to three masked men with guns, the affidavit said. One of the men showed them a picture of their adult daughter and said they had kidnapped her, but police later determined that was not true.
The burglars seemed to be familiar with the layout of the victims’ home, and demanded that they open their safe, threatening to “blow their brains out” if they didn’t, according to the affidavit.
One of the victims, trying to get the intruders out of his home, told them his valuables were locked in a safe at his business nearby. The three then tied the couple up and drove them to the business, where the victims gave them $19,500 in cash, the affidavit said.
The group then returned to the couple’s home, where the burglars pressed them for more valuables, as depicted in a video police said they later downloaded from Mendoza’s cell phone. At the home, the group stole Apple AirPods, $4,000 worth of designer clothes and jewelry, the Omega watch, as well as an additional $10,000 in cash and three guns, including two antique muskets from 1864.
After tying the couple up with a cord from their window blinds, the men left in the victims’ Mercedes.
Automated license plate readers tracked that vehicle back to Philadelphia. GPS from the Apple AirPods further narrowed the search down to 26th Street near Firth in North Philadelphia, the affidavit said. The Mercedes was discovered nearby on Ontario Street, and fingerprints found in the car matched Reyes and Mendoza’s older brother.
Police served a search warrant on a house on Weymouth Street in Kensington where Mendoza lived. Inside, they discovered some of the cash taken from the home, as well as the other items, including designer scarves and a Coach handbag with a receipt bearing the name of one of the victims, according to the affidavit.
Data downloaded from phones belonging to Mendoza and Armstrong show that they traveled to the victims’ home in Easttown on the night of the burglary, and returned to Kensington, the affidavit said. Detectives also discovered evidence that Mendoza was attempting to sell the stolen guns as well as clothing in the days after the burglary.
Pictures and videos taken during and after the robbery depicted Mendoza and Armstrong wearing clothing similar to items police later recovered from their homes, the affidavit said.