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Robbers tie up teen, steal money

Burglars demanded money from the boy, 15, then bound him with electrical cords in his home.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published January 16, 2006

SAFETY HARBOR - Four men dressed all in black broke into a house Sunday night, tied up a teenager at knifepoint and made off with an undisclosed amount of money, the Sheriff's Office said Monday.

The victim, 15-year-old Lin Bin Huang, was not injured, sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen said.

At 8 p.m. Sunday, as the teen watched television, the suspects repeatedly rang the doorbell to the Huang house at 1804 Oak Ridge Road, which is just south of Main Street, east of McMullen-Booth Road.

Huangwent to the door, then heard the men break a window to a rear bedroom and enter the house, McMullen said.

One of the men was armed with a knife, another with a crowbar.

The burglars demanded money from Huang, then forced him in a laundry room and bound him with electrical cords, McMullen said. They ransacked the bedrooms for cash and left. It was unclear why the men chose Huang's house.

"It's really too early to make that determination," McMullen said. "Detectives still have more investigation to do."

Huang's parents returned home about 9:20 p.m., found him on the laundry room floor and called authorities, McMullen said. On Monday, repeated phone calls to the Huang family went unanswered.

Sheriff's detectives know of no other similar robberies in the area.

The robbers were described only as four Vietnamese men, 19 to 20 years old, wearing black clothes, including black baseball caps and gloves.

TO HELP: Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact sheriff's Detective Jim Cavagnaro at (727) 582-6200 or Crime Stoppers 1-800-873-8477.

[Last modified January 16, 2006, 19:57:12]