Teens Recovering After Being Beaten During SW Dade Robbery
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Two southwest Miami-Dade brothers were roughed up during an early morning robbery.
"My kids are good kids," said the teens' mother Martha Martinez. "They were sleeping when this happened."
Martinez told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "Bad. I feel bad about this."
Martinez said she, her boyfriend and her daughter left their home Monday morning at 14100 SW 281st Street, leaving her 15-year-old son Alexis Gallegos and 19-year-old son Alfred Gallegos inside.
Miami-Dade Police Det. Alvaro Zabaleta said that sometime after that, "The 19-year-old son heard a noise coming from inside the house. When he walked out, he was confronted in the living room by a black male subject who apparently had some type of bandanna or t-shirt over their head. He was immediately struck with some type of blunt object, several times over the head."
Police said a second subject attacked the 15 year old.
"He called out for help from the 15-year-old brother and when he came out of the bedroom to help out, he was struck by another subject over the head several times," said Zabaleta.
After taking jewelry and other items from teens and their home, police said both subjects took off.
The teens were rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.
Martinez told D'Oench, "I don't know how my sons are. I haven't seen them. When I got here, I found out they had been taken to the hospital."
Fortunately, by Monday night they were in stable condition.
Zabaleta said they really need to get these guys off the street.
"Just the fact that these individuals were brazen enough to go inside the house and without even the victim putting up any type of resistance, before they even made any demands, they immediately struck him with a blunt object over the head several times, almost killing him," said Zabaleta.
He went on, "It goes to show how violent these individuals are just for personal items…They should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who has any information should call Crime Stoppers. Someone had to have seen these individuals get in a car or get on bicycles or on a motorcycle."
"Would you like people to come forward?" Martinez was asked.
"Of course," she said. "I would like that. Police are going to do their work. Let them do their work," said Martinez.
It's not known why the suspects targeted Martinez's home.
"That's what we need to get at," said Zabaleta. "We need to speak to the victims who are 15 and 19 and their mother."
The boys were not the only victims this crime. The suspects burglarized another neighbor, though she wasn't home at the time.
"My freezer was open. Fridge and kitchen cabinets were open. All my stuff is out. My TV is missing, my computer is missing," explained Imandre Pupu. "It's terrifying to think someone can come into the house so easily even though we have gates on the windows and the door."
Zabaleta said police did not have a good description to release of the suspects even though they believe someone had to have seen the two suspects. It is also thought that people in the neighborhood know who's responsible but nobody is talking.
Anyone with information on the robbery is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.
