New Albany Home Invasion
A neighborhood in New Albany is on high alert Wednesday after a home invasion.
It happened early that morning in the 1500 block of East Elm Street.
Police say a couple was awakened by two armed men who are still on the loose.
Police say they're interviewing the victims again and looking for witnesses in connection with a brutal home invasion robbery in which the victims were pistol whipped, threatened and robbed.
We spoke with one of the victims who told us he believes the suspects confused his home with one that belonged to someone else.
The nightmare on Elm Street started at around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday morning when two men kicked in Johnny Koch's back door.
He jumped naked from his bed.
“By the time I got to the middle of the living room, they were already saying ‘Police! Police! Get on the ground.’”"
Koch says two young black men pointed guns at his wife and himself, demanding money they believed was hidden in the home, eventually striking both in the head with pistols.
“Every time I would say ‘I don't have no more. I don't have no more.' Then he hit my wife again. Then he'd point the gun down at her and he'd say 5-4-3-2, like he was getting ready to shoot her,” said Koch. “Then I jumped up and I said ‘My pants are in the bedroom. Go grab my pants. That's all I have. ‘ I had $120 in my pants. and they took it.”
Before the suspects left, Koch says the men made one final threat to kill both of them.
“I held my hands up because he's pointing the gun at my face and I held my hand up to block the bullet if he shot . Next thing I know, they just turned around and walked out my door,” said Koch.
New Albany Police hope they're caught before they strike again.
“A crime like this certainly shocks the conscience of the community,” said Sgt. Todd Bailey. “We would encourage anyone who has information about this case to call the New Albany Police Department.”
“We've never been through nothing like this,” said Koch. “You might as well have took one of our lives cause they took everything else from us.”
Police say the men were between 23 and 27-years-old and were of medium height and build.
Police say they were wearing black jackets and black toboggans at the time of the crime.
If you have information about the crimes, you can contact police anonymously at 948-NAPD.
