Robbers kick in door, point gun at infant, police report

By Seth Burkett
sburkett@decaturdaily.com · 340-2355

Two masked men allegedly kicked down a door and forced a couple to fork over cash by holding their infant son at gunpoint, Decatur police said Wednesday.

No one was hurt, but the first thing the couple did after the robbers left was take the 4-month-old to a relative's house, said Lt. Frank DeButy, a police spokesman.

Mareo Harris, 19, and Juanita Ward, 18, told police the robbery followed a mysterious knock on the door of their apartment in the 1800 block of Milligan Street Southwest sometime after 6 p.m. Tuesday, DeButy said.

"The girlfriend said she went to peephole but couldn't see anybody," DeButy said. "She went back to her boyfriend, took their 4-month-old child from him and went back to her seat. Then the door was kicked, swung open, and two subjects entered pointing handguns at them."

The two black males were dressed in black. One wore a red ski mask, and the other wore a black ski mask and sunglasses.

The gunmen allegedly demanded money and other property, DeButy said.

DeButy said Ward told police one of the men "waved his weapon at her and pointed it at her baby. She said that at that point, she told her boyfriend to give them the money in the purse to get them to leave."

The gunmen took two cell phones and about $350 cash from the woman's purse and left, DeButy said.

Harris waited a few minutes before going to the door.

The robbers were already gone, and Harris didn't how or in what direction they fled, DeButy said.

After taking the baby to a relative's house, the couple returned to the apartment to meet with police.

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