It's one of the city's quieter and more affluent communities, but in the early hours of Saturday morning, Bella Vista was the scene of well-planned and ruthlessly executed home invasion. It occurred at the residence of businessman Derek Nisbet who, apart from having his home cleaned out, was tied up inside. Keith Swift has the story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
It is in this upscale neighborhood that a home invasion robbery occurred at 4 am on Saturday. The home's owner Derek Nisbet says he returned home at 5am. He went inside and realized he had he left his gun in his car. He went to retrieve it and that's when Nisbet was surrounded by two men armed with guns with shirts over their faces. The men demanded money and forced Nisbet into his house and robbed him of $5,000 in cash and a gold medal valued at $1,500.
The terror didn't end there because around the same time, Nisbet's son Edmund and a female friend were returning home and they came face to face to the robbers. The story gets incredible because the assailants tied upon Derek Nisbet, his son Edward, and his son's female friend. The gunmen then went upstairs.
The men spent 45 minutes in the Nisbet's home. Police say it was completely ransacked and the men left with 4 guns, thousands of dollars in jewelry, and thousands more in cash. Police this afternoon charged Giovanni Lauriano, Marlon Harris, and Hilberto Gallego for the aggravated burglary.
Supt. Aaron Guzman, C.I.B. Commander
"Based on our investigation, these were the fellows who our investigation led us to. Subsequent to that we did a search
and we found some monies with of the gentlemen and one of them chose to give us a caution statement when he was told the reason for us searching his house and detaining him for investigation process. So we went through the procedures. We cautioned him and he chose to give us a statement, we had a JP present, and we recorded the statement from him under caution."
Police won't say which one of the three accused men confessed but Superintendent Aaron Guzman says the Nisbets were specifically targeted. In fact police believe that the assailants trailed Derek Nisbert in this two
door Volkswagen car.
Supt. Aaron Guzman,
"So far we have found out that yes Mr. Nisbet was targeted, he was followed that night for a period of time and then they laid in wait for him."
Keith Swift,
Mr. Nisbet said there were two people who accosted him. Where was this third man who you have charged?
Supt. Aaron Guzman,
"Because the matter is before the court I won't get into details but one of the charges also is conspiracy. So that in itself tells you that they had compared, they concocted together to commit this crime."
Keith Swift,
Can you tell us how much money was recovered?
Supt. Aaron Guzman,
"It is a minimal amount of money but because of where we found it and certain other things in relation to the small amount of money that we have that led us believe that yes it was monies taken from Mr. Nisbet and his son."
Keith Swift,
Three guns were stolen I believe, has the police recovered any of those?
Supt. Aaron Guzman,
"Actually its four guns that were stolen, one is a rifle, one is a shotgun, a nine millimeter pistol, and a.22 pistol. So it is four guns and none have been recovered."
And speaking of guns, just two weeks ago Lauriano was charged for handling Greg Choq's stolen 9 millimeter gun. And earlier this year, Giovanni Lauriano and Marlon Harris ere both charged for a string of burglaries. Which begs the question why were they still on the street.
Keith Swift,
Don't these men belong in jail? They are both awaiting trial for crimes involving guns.
Supt. Aaron Guzman,
"Mr. Swift I think the record will show that he was charged for handling stolen goods in reference to Mr. Greg Choq firearm and for kept unlicensed firearm in the same instance for that firearm. Now that matter is before the court and I will not comment on that matter. And so there it is that we have brought another matter before the court and it is for the court to eventually hear the case and make a decision."
Giovanni Lauriano and Hilberto Gallego have been jointly charged with aggravated burglary. Bail was not offered so all three were remanded to the Hattieville Prison.
In addition to the $7,000 in cash stolen from Nisbet and his son and the four guns, the men stole a Tag brand wrist watch valued at $5,000; and a Pulsar brand watch valued at $600. Those were taken from inside the house but the men also took Nisbet's L200 Mitsubishi pickup where he had a laptop valued at $3,000, an Ipod valued at $1,000, and a Canon camera valued at $1,000. The vehicle was later found abandoned but none of the stolen items were recovered.
