On the east side, an 80-year-old woman faced a terrifying ordeal as two burglars invaded her home. As police search for the suspects, the community remains on edge.
SAN ANTONIO — It was a scary situation even young people would have trouble processing, so imagine the fear in the heart of an 80-year-old woman who woke up to find two burglars in her bedroom at 4 a.m.
It happened this week in east San Antonio and the victim, Annie, said she hopes San Antonio Police will take the threat seriously and make an arrest soon.
Annie said a thunderstorm was raging so she didn’t hear the sound of shattering glass when the two men climbed on a big plastic pot and then used hand tools to disable her burglar bars and break their way in.
Of the fright, Annie said she has high blood pressure, and she hasn’t been able to shake a headache ever since the attack made her heart race.
Annie said to stay safe, she pretended to be asleep, and it wasn’t until she smelled gasoline that she worried that she might burn to death in her bed.
She said the terror continued for about 20 minutes as the two men went from room to room looking for items to steal.
Annie said she believes the masked men were about to strike a match to cover their burglary crime when they found her purse, grabbed it and took off.
“It took a lot of patience and a lot of control to stay pretending to be asleep,” Annie said, adding “They stole the whole purse with all the credit cards, all the information, ID, social security, and a passport.”
Annie said they found a lighter on the table next to where the purse had been sitting, so she believes the purse, which had very little cash inside, may have saved her life.
Annie said on the way out the men even stole all her keys, which were in the front door.
The Dignowity Hill neighborhood, near the Hays Street bridge, has been on high alert for several weeks, Annie said, because of what they call similar crimes.
She said some of her neighbors believe a massive fire at the corner of Nolan and Cherry streets back on April 17 could be the work of the same suspects, as that home also belonged to an elderly woman.
And the day before that fire, there was a 5 a.m. burglary call nearby on Hackberry Street.
In Annie’s case, there are clues. She said the two suspects left fresh shoe prints in the soft mud; fingerprints were found on some of the items they touched and even though they were wearing masks, they left an item of clothing behind.
She described the men as short-statured, bald Hispanics with multiple tattoos, and she added one of them was very thin-framed.
Annie said she hopes detectives will be able to crack the case so that neighbors can have a sense of security again.
The non-emergency number to call for SAPD is 210-207-7484, for anyone who might be able to help.