Deaf Elderly Man In ICU After Home Invasion
By Sana Syed
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) – An elderly North Texas man is fighting for
his life after one of two home invasions that happened Tuesday morning.
Police believe the same three people are responsible for a Fort Worth crime
spree.
The home invasions happened blocks from each other, on south Hampshire
Boulevard, in Fort Worth.
An elderly woman, who didn’t want her face shown on television, says she’s
is still shaken up after three masked men kicked in her door just after
midnight.
“I thought they were gonna kill me when I saw the pistol,” said victim Diane
Thomas.
Thomas is 72-years-old and says two men ransacked her home while a third
person robbed her at gunpoint. The men stole money and jewelry. “I’m mad and
sad. Most of all, I’m scared to death,” she said.
Police believe the men then drove a mile down the street and broke into
Frank Burk’s house.
Burk is known for being the one person who takes care of a local city park.
Burk does the work voluntarily, despite the fact that he is 85-years-old and
deaf.
The elderly man’s family members believe the suspects may have beaten him
when he didn’t do what they told him to do. “Because he didn’t respond to
their demands, because he’s deaf. He would have if he had heard them,” said
Burk’s niece Pam Fojtik. “I think that’s why he ended up getting hurt.”
Fojtik says the suspects broke into her uncle’s house through the garage and
back door.
As a result of the attack, Burk has brain damage and broken bones in his
face. He remains in intensive care. Fojtik says her uncle may not survive.
“He loves the Lord and he’s ready to go home to the Lord if that’s what God
has in store for him,” she said.
Burk’s attackers got away with a few dollars in change. They also stole his
truck, but it was later found wrecked.
Authorities believe the three suspects are responsible for both invasions on
Hampshire and two business robberies.
While investigating one of the business robberies a witness noticed a car
that looked like the one driven by the suspects. When police stopped the
vehicle they found three people inside and a number of items stolen during
the robberies.
Police took two men and a 16-year-old into custody.
Source: http://cbs11tv.com/local/Fort.Worth.home.2.1304294.html