Crime & Safety

UPDATED: 99-Year-Old Woman Hit in the Head, Duct-Taped in Home Invasion

Men posing as utility workers duct-taped a 99-year-old woman and 62-year-old man during a Wednesday afternoon robbery.

Updated at 12:45 p.m. April 12

An elderly woman was knocked to the floor before having her mouth duct-taped during a home invasion Wednesday in the 700 block of Washington Avenue, police said.

The 99-year-old was also struck in the head and face during the attack, suffering minor injuries.

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Assistant Police Chief Steve Lucchesi said the woman suffered a slight injury to her left arm, but declined treatment from paramedics who responded to the scene.

Another resident of the home, a 62-year-old man, was also duct-taped to a chair but uninjured in the invasion.

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Police said a man knocked on the door of the home, located on the village's east side near 135th Street and New Avenue, around 2 p.m. and told the residents he needed to perform a water pressure check inside the home.

The 62-year-old resident told the man he had not requested any service and asked him for identification.

According to a press release issued by , the man told the homeowner he did not have ID. The resident told the man to leave or he would call the police, and he began to close the door.

Police said the intruder was then joined by two other men and forced the door open, knocking the 99-year-old woman to the floor.

The home invaders picked up the woman and sat her in a chair before duct-taping her mouth, police said. The 62-year-old man was also forced to sit, with his arms duct-taped to the chair and his mouth covered with tape.

The three intruders then demanded money from the residents, and one of the men struck the elderly woman once in the head and once in the face, police said.

"This was a horrible crime," Lucchesi said.

The bandits ransacked the home and took an undisclosed amount of money, according to police.

Police originally believed the men fled on foot, but a witness has since come forward with new information.

"A witness saw them leaving in a black Ford F-150 pick-up truck," Lucchesi said.

Anyone with information on the robbery should contact police at 815-886-7219.

Romeoville police have released the following descriptions of the three suspects:

  • A Hispanic man in his 20s wearing a black baseball cap with flashing lights on the front, a white hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans
  • A Hispanic man in his 20s wearing a black baseball cap with a wing symbol on the front, a black hooded sweatshirt, black sunglasses and brown cloth gloves
  • A Hispanic man in his 20s

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