Armed Grinches invade family Christmas

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque family lived through a nightmare before Christmas when armed intruders posing as police officers beat the husband and stole their gifts, personal items and peace of mind.

The young couple and 1-year-old son were making lunch in their South Valley home on Tuesday afternoon.

They were in the kitchen where the bread and knife they were using to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are still lying out.

When they heard a loud boom the husband went to the front door just as three hooded men in dark clothing kick it in.

The couple, still frightened by their experience, declined to speak on camera. Instead her father described what happened.

”Once they kicked it they hollered they were with the Albuquerque Police Department,” Jose Jacquez told KRQE News 13.

This was no police raid, of course, and one of the men hit the husband in the temple with the butt of his gun. Quickly the other two men were in the kitchen attacking the wife.

“They drug my daughter and threw her to the ground, stepped on her back and her arms," Jacquez continued. "They told her to shut up and if she didn't they were going to pop her husband.”

They shoved the baby, still in his high chair, into a wall. He wasn't hurt.

The attackers then ripped the TV off the wall, stole all the Christmas presents and took a hunting rifle.

“Ransacked everything," Jacquez said. "Took out all the dresser drawers, bedspreads, beds, flipped over mattresses, invaded the whole house.”

One of the attackers continued to beat the husband leaving him with a broken nose and bleeding heavily from his head.

“He said, 'Do whatever you want to me, but don't hurt my family," Jacquez said. "I am very proud of him for that. They all took care of each other.”

The husband told the intruders where to find his wife's purse and the keys to his Cadillac Escalade. The men then filled the SUV with their loot and took the $45 in cash the family had.

“They took all the kid's gifts, and they work really hard for what they have," Jacquez said. "They even took their jackets. I saw my daughter today, and they don't even have a jacket.”

Two of the attackers took off in the Cadillac while the most aggressive of the robbers stayed behind to torment the family for a few more minutes before he fled.

“He continued to play with the gun, cocking it, the pistol in my son-in-law's face,” Jacquez said. “It's going to take some time for them to heal from the terror and the lawlessness these guys did.”

The family is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who has information leading to the arrest of the crooks.

Jacquez said his family is grateful that they are all alive. However his daughter and son-in-law no longer feel safe in their home and plan to sell it.

This was the seventh robbery on that street in two months, according to Jacquez.

Anyone with information on the crime can call APD at 242-COPS (242-2677).