Police impersonators tie up, rob Hallandale Beach family

Deputies find intruders' getaway car in West Park

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. ā€“ A Hallandale Beach family was tied up and robbed at gunpoint by police impersonators, authorities said.

Pablo Castro said his father, mother and brother were inside their Tamarind Drive home early Tuesday when three armed men claiming to be police knocked on the door and pushed their way inside.

"They were wearing guns and big rifles," Castro said.

Castro said the men pushed his family to the floor.

"They had the gun to my dad's head," he said. "To my brother, a rifle to his head, and to my mom, too."

Castro's brother, Mateo, 22, told Local 10 News reporterĀ LayronĀ Livingston that the robbers placed a pillowcase over his head, and he has bruises from the zip ties used to bind his wrists.

"They zip-tied me and zip-tied my mom and dropped us on the floor, right here in the living room, while they took my dad upstairs," Mateo Castro said.

Pablo Castro said the robbers forced his father to show them where the cash and jewelry were before they fled.

"This man came running down the street, screaming that his home was invaded," Jerry Paskowitz, a security guard who was on patrol in the neighborhood, said.

Paskowitz said the man was still bound with zip ties. Paskowitz called police, and another security guard cut the man free.

Broward Sheriff's Office deputies ended up in a West Park neighborhood after the homeowner's stolen iPhone and the robbers' getaway car were traced to that location.

Detectives could be seen on the roof of a home, but the car was abandoned and the robbers were nowhere to be found.

Anyone with information about the home invasion is asked to call Hallandale Beach police.


About the Authors:

Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.

Layron Livingston made the move from Ohio's Miami Valley to Miami, Florida, to join the Local 10 News team.