MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — A Middletown woman is speaking out to let the community know she’s a survivor, not a victim. The woman and her friends were the targets of a terrifying home invasion.
It happened over the weekend at the Wilcox Apartments on South Main Street. Five men posed as fake FedEx delivery drivers. They knocked on Arianah Acevedo’s door.
“They held the package up to the door. They had on a FedEx vest,” recalled Acevedo. Thinking it was legit, Acevedo opened the door. “Five of them just rushed through my door.”
With two friends inside her apartment, the men zip-tied the women and hit Arianah in the head with a gun.
“There was blood all over the wall and all over the floor,” said Acevedo.
She showed the video of the men inside her bedroom rummaging through her things. They can be heard on home surveillance cameras saying, “Where’s the jewelry at? We’re just looking for the bread and we’re outta here.”
The men stole about $100,000 worth of jewelry and designer clothing and handbags. Acevedo said she doesn’t know the suspects, but is pretty sure they know her through her large social media following.
“They’ve been watching me. They know I make a lot of money which makes me a target," said Acevedo.
All five men are from New York and New Jersey. They were eventually arrested, but not before hopping in their getaway vehicle and leading police on a chase through three towns.
“Responding officers saw the vehicle in question and initiated a pursuit,” said Middletown Police Chief Erik Costa.
When their car eventually crashed, a K-9 was deployed to take down one of the men.
“That was Coda's last shift after 8 years of great work and service to us,” said Costa.
The men were charged and arraigned in court on nearly 20 criminal charges each.
“I never thought in a million years that people would travel states to do a home invasion,” said Acevedo.
Acevedo said she’ll be upgrading the locks on her door and adding more security systems. She has learned to be more careful about sharing her life online, but she also says she’s not going to let fear rule her life.
“My only message to anybody who is thinking about doing something like this is you are only going to end up in prison,” said Acevedo.
Acevedo said she wanted to thank her apartment neighbors for looking out for her and for calling the cops when they heard screaming. All five of those suspects are being held on various bail amounts as high as $975,000.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
---
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
Stream Live on Apple TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click download.
