Lehigh family says three armed men in black beat, robbed them at home

A teenager was forced to watch armed robbers take advantage of his parents and beat them at their home in Lee County last weekend.

A family in Lehigh Acres says they were beaten by three men who held them at gunpoint and demanded money from them.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report, but the robbers had already fled the scene with money from the family’s home along Glenn Avenue near Joel Boulevard.

Jose Herrera said he was jolted from his sleep early Saturday morning by a loud noise coming from his door.

“They told me to get on the floor and get down because they were robbing the place and threatened to shoot me if I made any noise,” Herrera said.

Three men all dressed in black pointed guns at Herrera and his family and demanded money from them.

“They tied me up with duct tape, put my hands in front of me, tied my legs together,” Herrera said.

Herrera said they took his phone and headed straight to his mother’s room, where the invaders continued to be violent.

“They throw her on the floor. They ask her where the money is, if they have any money,” Herrera said.

Herrera was forced to watch but was able to release himself from the restraints.

“I managed to get myself free of the tape,” Herrera said. “I make a run out of the back door and go to the neighbor’s house.”

A witness says a drone flew over the home an hour before the robbery. And Herrera said he remembers seeing and hearing drones flying overhead four nights in a row leading up to the robbery. Investigators are looking into whether they are connected.

“We were defenseless,” Herrera said. “I’m just glad that it didn’t escalate to violence. Well, more violence than there already was. I’m just glad we all made it out alive.”