ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Four people have been arrested after robbing an older woman in December, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
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Around 3 a.m., the suspects scared the woman in her sleep by wearing clown masks as they broke into her home on Dec. 1, 2022.
Deputies said the suspects were armed with a sledgehammer.
Photos: 4 suspects in clown masks arrested after robbing Orange County woman
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According to an arrest warrant, Orange County deputies responded to the burglary call in the Cypress Springs neighborhood.
The woman said she had locked her bedroom door, but she heard a banging noise, and two masked suspects broke the door.
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Investigators said the woman had tried to call 911 on her cell phone, but the suspect with the sledgehammer took it out of her hands.
One of the suspects tore apart the room with the sledgehammer and found a safe in the closet. Deputies said the second suspect, a woman, consoled the older woman as she prayed, and said “everything is going to be OK.”
The report said the suspects fled the house with the safe and $40,000 worth of valuable items, but then the woman called call law enforcement with her house phone.
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Deputies said home surveillance video led them to find the other suspects, including Melissa Martinez, 23, who later tried to sell the woman’s belongings at a pawn shop.
Investigators identified the other suspects in the robbery as Jaydie Cintron Mayoral, Nelson David Cruz and Shakira Rivera Colon.
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