Melissa Martinez, 23; Shakira Colon, 26; Nelson Medina, 42; and Jaydie Mayoral, 24, are now in the Orange County Jail after they broke into an elderly woman’s home wearing clown masks and robbed her.
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Orange County deputies responded to the robbery and discovered that four suspects broke into a home wearing clown masks, with one of them armed with a sledgehammer. They immediately took the woman’s cell phone to prevent her from calling for help.
During the home invasion, the victim prayed for help when one suspect patted her on the back and said, “Everything is going to be ok.”
The invaders tried to bust open a safe in the victim’s closet but were unsuccessful. So, the thieves took the entire safe with them as they fled the residence. The thieves hit the jackpot as the safe contained approximately $40,000 in jewelry and family heirlooms.
We have ZERO TOLERANCE for criminals who prey on our most vulnerable residents.
These four are behind bars after they terrorized and robbed an elderly woman in December, startling her from sleep as they broke into her home, wearing clown masks and armed with a sledgehammer. pic.twitter.com/RDkUtmqxxl
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) January 6, 2023
The investigation discovered that suspect Martinez was previously a caregiver to the victim’s husband, who recently passed away.
Investigators say it only took Martinez and Medina one day to pawn all the stolen goods.
The victim’s neighbors were outraged that one of the suspects was a caretaker and believed better background checks for caretakers were needed. The neighborhood has decided to form a group to keep an eye on each other and protect themselves from this type of crime, with everyone exchanging phone numbers to stay in contact.
Orange County Investigators caught the four thieves using pawn shop sales records, neighborhood security cameras, Martinez’s phone identification data, and other investigative techniques.
“We have ZERO TOLERANCE for criminals who prey on the most vulnerable members of our community,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
All four were arrested and are charged with home invasion, robbery, and grand theft. Martinez and Medina face additional charges of dealing in stolen property and false verification of ownership as they pawned the stolen goods.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Martinez, Mayoral, and Colon were arrested in Polk County and are set to be transferred to Orange County for arraignment.
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