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Gun-toting robbers invade 70-year-old heart patient's home

Masked men tie up resident before ransacking his Elliott Avenue home, then help him with his oxygen tank.

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By Lauren Pack, Staff Writer Updated 1:19 AM Thursday, April 9, 2009

NEW MIAMI — Two masked men carrying guns kicked in the front door of a home early Wednesday, April 8, then bound and threatened to kill the 70-year-old resident, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities are looking for the pair that forced their way into Darrell Carpenter’s home on Elliott Avenue about 2 a.m., said Sgt. Melina Smith. The men — one carrying a shotgun and the other a handgun — bound Carpenter’s hands and forced him to the floor at gunpoint.

When Carpenter complained about heart problems, the men turned on his oxygen tank and gave him his nose tube to assist his breathing, authorities said.

Carpenter’s home was ransacked by the men described as white, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, according to authorities.

The robbers were in the home for about 30 minutes searching for valuables, before leaving with Carpenter’s cash, personal identification, tools, a carton of cigarettes and prescription medication, authorities said.

When the men left they warned Carpenter not to call “the law” or they would kill him, according to the sheriff’s report. The victim ran to a neighbor and they called 911.

Detectives and police dogs tracked the suspects north through a puddle of water and mud, where it appeared a vehicle made a U-turn and headed south toward Cain Avenue.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (513) 785-1300 or Detective Ken Hardin at (513) 759-7349. Anonymous information also may be forwarded through the Sheriff’s Office Web site at www.butlersheriff.org.

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