more home invasion robberies in delaware county

News of still more home invasion robberies targeting Asian families in Pennsylvania... The most recent incident occurred last week in Upper Darby, where three armed men charged into a house, held the homeowner -- an Asian woman -- at gunpoint: Bandits invade Upper Darby home.

According to police, the gunmen searched the house and carried out a safe containing $25,000 and an assortment of jewelry and precious metals, valued at $10,000. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, but it does look like her home was being watched and specifically targeted:

"Obviously, they were watching this house because they entered shortly after her husband left," Chitwood said. "Unfortunately, the woman recalled being followed by a black SUV from their business to their home on Friday (April 29) and saw the same car parked in front of their home on Saturday and she never called police.

"We had a rash of these home invasions about six months ago. These robbers are parasites of society that follow hardworking people to their homes. They're thugs. The good thing this time is nobody got hurt. She's upset and shaken, but only bruised from being knocked down."

Another home invasion robbery occurred back in March, when a 26-year-old woman was robed beaten by two armed men at her parents' house in Springfield: Cops: Springfield woman beaten by robbers during home invasion.

Township police responded to a 911 call placed at 1:38 a.m. by a friend of the victim. The caller said her friend, a resident of the 300 block of Lester Road, was being beaten and robbed.

Officers responded and found a man standing at the front door of the home. When he saw police, the man, identified as Stephen Purnell, 26, of Philadelphia, began to walk away but was detained.

Police saw that the front door to the home had been forced opened.

They searched the home and found the victim hiding on a porch roof at the back of the house, police said. She said she had been robbed and beaten by two men wearing ski masks and carrying handguns, police said.

The attackers repeatedly asked the woman, "Where do you keep the money?" according to police. The victim told them she didn’t know as the home belonged to her parents, who own a business in West Philadelphia.

At least they caught one of the guys in this one. As you might recall, there were a rash of similar home invasions last year, when Asian business owners were followed home and robbed. Is this happening again? Not quite as frequently as before, but still pretty alarming considering all the recent attention from law enforcement these crimes have received.

Be careful, stay vigilant, and spread the word.