COLUMBUS – Police are looking for two men wearing who broke into a home in Galloway wearing clown masks early Wednesday morning, tied up the couple living there and ransacked the house.
Detectives with the Robbery Unit say the men restrained the man, identified only as “Mr. Maldonado,” and the woman, whose names was given as “Ms. Morales,” and forced them to lie facedown in a bathroom of the home on Rockets Street at approximately 2:00 a.m. while the suspects took jewelry, electronics and cash.
Police say the couple were able to free themselves and run for help after the suspects fled the scene.
A second violent home invasion-style robbery was reported on the Northeast Side about 24 hours later, police said.
Detectives say two men reported meeting two woman at a bar and invited them to meet back a friend’s apartment on Atlantic Avenue.
While the men, including their friend who was asleep, were waiting for the women when three men knocked on the door, forced their way inside and bound the three men with duct tape. After about 25 minutes, the three suspects left the apartment with the victims’ cell phones, credit cards and cash.
Anyone with any information about either incident is encouraged to call the Columbus Division of Police Robbery Unit at 614-645-4665 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.