Armed Cranberry Home Invasion Remains Under Investigation

Cranberry Township Police continue to investigate a robbery where three armed men broke into a residence in the Laurelwood Apartment complex off Rochester Road and demanded drugs and money from the occupants.

Sgt. Chuck Mascellino said investigators are working on a few different leads in the incident.

“We’re following up on it,” he said.

Last Thursday, the suspects, who were carrying at least one long gun and a handgun, ransacked the townshouse after tying up the five people who were living there. All five of the occupants are construction workers temporarily living in the area, police said.

Within 15 minutes of the break-in, two other occupants of the apartments arrived home and surprised the suspects, according to police.

The robbers ordered those men into the apartment, but they fled and called 911.

No one was injured in the robbery. The suspects are described as one black man and two white men.

Mascellino said it’s unclear if the victims were the intended targets of the robbery, although he said it's not likely the break-in was random.

“We still haven’t found a reason for why that apartment was targeted,” he said.

He said it’s possible the robbers had the wrong apartment, or that they had the right apartment, but the wrong people.

“Or, the victims could be lying to us about why they were there,” he said.

Although the suspects demanded drugs and money, they ended up stealing household items from the townhouse, police said.

Mascellino cautioned residents to keep their doors locked, not just until the suspects are caught, but as a general good practice.

He added the doors at the Laurelwood residence were open prior to the robbery. Had the doors been locked, it might have prevented the suspects from breaking in, he said.

“Know who is at your door before you open it,” he said.