AGNEW — An attempted home invasion eerily similar to one closer to Port Angeles 24 hours before was thwarted early Sunday by a resident who shot at one of the bandits.
The would-be robber fled with two men in a dark modified car, witnesses told Clallam County sheriff’s deputies.
It was not known if the man was hurt, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said.
Authorities said there is a good chance the three men who tried to rob the home on the 300 block of South Barr Road between Port Angeles and Sequim early Sunday were the same men who invaded a Gales Addition home early Saturday and robbed a couple of money and jewelry.
“We are advising the public to address [strangers] through locked doors,” Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. Randy Pieper said.
If “anyone comes to their door requesting any sort of assistance, they should call 9-1-1 if the person [or people] requesting assistance are not known,” Pieper said.
One of the would-be home invaders knocked on the rear door of the Barr Road residence at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday to ask for help.
Cameron said the man said he needed gas and asked to use a phone.
The resident, who was not identified by the sheriff’s office, kept the door locked as he retrieved a phone and a handgun.
When the homeowner opened the door, a second man emerged, pointing a gun at the resident.
The homeowner quickly closed the door and fired a shot through it, Cameron said.
“I don’t think anybody got hurt,” Cameron said, citing a lack of bloodstains in the area.
A third man drove the getaway car north on Barr Road.
Cameron said the car was described as a dark-colored, two-door European model with loud exhaust and low to the ground.
Sheriff’s deputies, Sequim police, Port Angeles police and U.S. Border Patrol officers were unable to locate the car or any of the men.
Cameron provided the following descriptions of the men:
— Suspect No. 1: White male in his early 20s, about 5-foot-6 with a slender build and dark hair. He was wearing a dark blue pullover “hoodie” and a dark baseball cap.
— Suspect No. 2 with the gun: White male in his early 20s, about 6 feet tall with a slender build and blond hair.
He was wearing a dark hoodie and dark bandana over his face.
— Suspect No. 3, the getaway driver: The white male behind the wheel, who was asked by a neighbor why the car was there, was described as being in his mid-20s with clean-cut dark hair.
A Gales Addition couple was robbed almost exactly 24 hours earlier by three armed men wearing disguises who came into the couple’s home on the 3000 block of Fourth Avenue at 1:27 a.m. Saturday.
The home invaders also were wearing hoodies.
Once inside the home, the robbers demanded that the man open a safe and took about $900 in cash and jewelry from it, Cameron said over the weekend.
The three men then fled in what was described as a small foreign-made vehicle.
“We just don’t get these that often,” Cameron said.
Anyone with information is asked to phone the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office at 360-417-2459.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
