Officials in New York City announced Friday that two men are in custody after allegedly conducting two armed robberies targeting the apartment of two strippers in Queens, according to reports.
Romel Catoe, 29, of Pennsylvania, and Matthew Sanchez, 32, of Brooklyn, are the two suspects prosecutors believe were involved in the home invasions. Catoe was arrested on Thursday in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, while Sanchez was already in prison in Oklahoma on a drug-related sentence, the New York Daily News reported.
The first home invasion occurred on January 27, 2021, the Daily Mail reported. Catoe and Sanchez allegedly stole $79,000 in cash — “mostly singles” — and at least 16 luxury handbags worth approximately $100,000 belonging to both women. The brand names of the luxury handbags were Christian Dior and Hermes.
The New York Police Department released footage on Friday of the first home heist, showing one of the suspects allegedly pointing a gun at the husband while he was zip-tied. The wife of the husband was in the Dominican Republic at the time, the Mail noted.
After nine days passed, the armed robbers came back on February 3, where this time one of the dancers was present after returning from her vacation. Both proceeded again to zip-tie the husband, along with his wife, while reportedly pointing guns at their children.
The second robbery did not go as planned, as one of the children dialed 911, prompting the robbers to leave, the Daily News noted. Amid their escape, one thief allegedly left his cellphone behind, helping police collect the necessary information to track down both suspects, leading to their arrests.
According to text messages between the two suspects before the first robbery, Catoe reportedly messaged Sanchez, “I’m ready thou like I’m ready ready,” and minutes later asked, “Are we getting this,” the Daily News wrote. It was also noted that both suspects disregarded the possibility of children being home.
“Police said the pair plotted out the heists after scoping the two strippers’ social media pages that showed them with wads of cash, jewelry and expensive handbags,” the Mail reported. “Prosecutors claimed the suspects also installed GPS tracking devices on their cars to hunt them down.”
“The defendants were charged in a Brooklyn Federal Court indictment with robbery conspiracy, robbery, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to receive stolen property,” the Daily News reported.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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