Two masked men broke into the home of an elderly Bethesda couple last week and stole approximately $10,000 in cash and rare silver coins, but told the couple they weren’t going to hurt them, according to Montgomery County police.
“We respect you,” the men allegedly told the couple after sitting them down on a couch and telling them to raise their hands. “It’s just that the economy sucks.”
Last week, police arrested Robert Christopher Hartley, 30, of Bel Air, and Ioanis Gourgoulianos, 28, of Fallston, and charged them with home invasion, first-degree assault and theft.
Police say the two men broke into the home in the 8800 block of Clewerwall Drive around 5:30 p.m. Feb. 16. They broke through a glass door, which alerted the 85-year-old husband and wife, who were in the basement, police said. When the couple went upstairs, they encountered the two men, who were wearing ski masks and armed with a baseball bat and a small blunt object. The men told the couple to sit on the couch, stole the cash and coins and left, police said.
Detectives later determined that Hartley had been inside the home prior to the robbery while working for a heating company. He had seen the couple’s valuables while installing a new heating system, according to police.
Police said on the day of the burglary a man later identified as Gourgoulianos approached the door of the home and asked the couple if they would be interested in snow removal services, which they declined. Police later determined no other home in the neighborhood was approached by the man.
Police arrested Hartley on Feb. 19 and located silver coins and traveler checks belonging to the victims inside his home. Police said he later provided a full confession. Gourgoulianos was arrested Feb. 20.
