PORTLAND, Ore. — A Northwest Portland couple was inside their home Monday morning when two people stormed inside, forced the couple out, and barricaded themselves in the home during an hours-long standoff with police.
The 85-year-old man, who wished to remain anonymous, said two strangers showed up at the house he shares with his 76-year-old wife in Portland's Forest Park neighborhood off Skyline Boulevard.
"My wife was saying there's someone stealing your ladder," he said. "'Come outside right here' and yeah. There's someone putting a ladder right up to my window."
The man on the ladder, along with a woman, then stormed the house, the homeowner said.
"My wife and he are nose-to-nose shouting whose house it is and I said 'let's just get out of the house and I'll call 911,'" he said.
A small army of police officers raced to the scene. They were concerned about firearms the homeowners stored in the house. A stretch of Northwest Skyline was shut down as authorities negotiated with the intruders for several hours.
"To me the biggest thing is let's get out of here, call the police, and they'll handle it," the homeowner said. "They did an excellent job."
The Portland Police Bureau's Special Emergency Response Team entered the home and apprehended the two suspects. They appeared in a Multnomah County courtroom Tuesday.
Michael Mazzi, 33, is familiar with courtrooms. His criminal history dates back to 2008 and includes an arrest and conviction for a violent assault. He also has a handful of warrants out of Clackamas County.
Kerina Trabue, 33, has a warrant out of Oregon City for misdemeanor drug possession.
"It's like you've got a problem but there's not a cure that's going to work or is working," the homeowner said. "Something should be done."
If not, he says, the next home invasion could end in a far worse manner than the one at his house.
"It was quite an experience," he said. "But nobody got hurt. The doors that have to be replaced, they're replaceable."