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Two gunmen enter home, steal cash

The homeowner had just cashed a large check. Largo investigators are puzzling over how the thieves apparently knew of the transaction.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published May 13, 2005

LARGO - The masked gunmen knew what they wanted.

The pair slipped through the back door of a home on Mary Sue Street, their pistols drawn, about 1 a.m. Thursday. Inside they encountered a teenage boy watching television.

"Where's your dad?" they asked.

The boy got his father, Michael Stiles, 36, according to Largo police.

"Where's the money? Give it up!" the men demanded.

Hours earlier, Stiles had cashed a check he received after refinancing his home, said Detective Keith Barton, who thinks the men must have known that.

Stiles handed over his lock box with more than $5,000 in it.

The intruders then ordered everyone in the house to undress and lie on the floor. One of them then hit Stiles over the head with a gun.

Stiles's son, meanwhile, managed to slip out of the house. He ran to a neighbor, who called police.

But by the time the squad cars arrived, the men were gone.

Barton spent Thursday piecing together clues. He didn't have a good description of the intruders, but he began to retrace Stiles' steps.

On Wednesday, Stiles took the check to a check cashing service in Largo, then bought dinner at McDonald's and took it home. He was watching TV in his bedroom when the men entered the house.

Barton acknowledges he has hard work ahead of him.

Stiles did not return phone messages Thursday afternoon.

Jacob H. Fries can be reached at 445-4156 or jfries@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 13, 2005, 00:57:16]