Stafford man stabs home-invasion suspects

BY KEITH EPPS

Two teenage suspects were stabbed toward the end of a wild home-invasion robbery early Tuesday in Stafford County, police said.

A third teen was also arrested following the incident, which started shortly after midnight in Widewater Village off U.S. 1 in North Stafford.

Sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy said a man called the Sheriff’s Office at 1:58 a.m. to report an ordeal he and his wife had just been through.

The man reported that three males entered the home earlier in the morning armed with knives.

They physically restrained his wife and held the couple hostage at knifepoint for about an hour, police said.

They also made the man walk through the home identifying valuables and assaulted the man numerous times during the walk, Kennedy said.

Eventually the three suspects split up to go through the house, Kennedy said, at which point the male resident got a kitchen knife.

Fearing for the well-being of his wife and additional attacks upon himself, the man challenged the intruders and a struggle ensued.

During the struggle, the man stabbed two of the suspects and eventually chased all three out of the house.

Shortly after receiving the 911 call, deputies found one of the 16-year-olds in the neighborhood. He was taken to an area hospital to receive treatment for a stab wound.

A second 16-year-old ran home and was taken to a hospital by his mother, police said. He was released from the hospital after being treated for a superficial stab wound and turned over to police.

The third suspect, 18-year-old Terry Adolfo Welch of Brooke Crest Lane in Stafford, turned himself in to police Tuesday afternoon.

The younger teens, who were not named because they are juveniles, are charged with armed breaking and entering, two counts of assault, two counts of abduction and conspiracy.

Welch is charged with armed breaking and entering and attempted robbery. Kennedy said more charges are expected against Welch.

Police said the suspects are being investigated for other recent home-invasion robberies, including one May 21 in Widewater Village.

Two masked intruders fitting the general description of Tuesday’s suspects broke into a home shortly after midnight and forced a couple to take their clothes off and walk around their home.

They took cash, jewelry, computer equipment and a digital camera before leaving.

Keith Epps: 540/374-5404

kepps@freelancestar.com

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