Questions surround
Bustleton home invasion

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Harry Navas says he has no idea why a group of armed robbers followed him inside his Bustleton apartment one evening last week, bound him to a chair, beat him and stole a couple of thousand dollars from him — all while his three children and their young friend were forced to watch.
After speaking with Navas, Philadelphia police investigators say they aren’t even sure what happened, let alone why.
The end result of the alleged Nov. 28 home invasion was that Navas, a 37-year-old diner chef, ended up with some bruises on his head, thousands of dollars in claimed losses and a compelling story to tell. Meanwhile, police are still looking for three of the five assailants described by the victim.
Navas claims that the incident occurred at around 6 p.m. that night as he returned to his home on the 2400 block of Tremont St. after shopping for a used car. Navas has told the Northeast Times that he parked in the lot of his apartment complex and walked to his unit, when he saw a group of men running along nearby Roosevelt Boulevard toward his door.
The five men busted through an exterior door and forced their way through an interior door at gunpoint, the victim claimed. What they demanded really dumbfounded Navas.
"They said, ‘Where’s the drugs?’ I said, ‘I don’t have any drugs,’" said Navas, a native of Guatemala who immigrated to the U.S. 18 years ago. "They said, ‘Yes, you have drugs.’"
All five men brandished guns, he said. One wore a mask over his face. The others had their faces exposed. They were all black and in their 20s or 30s, Navas said.
While two of the men stood lookout and two others kept a close eye on Navas and the four children — an 18 month-old, two 9-year-olds and a 14-year-old — the fifth man ransacked the place, ripping open drawers and overturning furniture in an apparent search for valuables.
"They said, ‘Sit down on the couch and nobody move or we’re gonna shoot everybody,’" Navas said.
Overcome by panic, he didn’t comply with the instructions, so the invaders pistol-whipped him in the head and bound him to a chair with duct tape, he claimed.
Unbeknownst to the robbers, Navas continued, an adult female friend — mother of one of the 9-year-olds — was hiding in a bedroom and had called 911.
Eventually, Navas said, the men found $2,000 cash stashed in a storage space in the basement of the two-story building. The victim told the Times that the money belongs to a friend whom he allowed to keep it there. Navas also claims that the invaders inflicted thousands of dollars more in damage to the place.
They fled the apartment as police approached with lights and sirens engaged. Patrol officers from the 7th district grabbed two of the suspects on foot on the 8900 block of Roosevelt Blvd. and allegedly recovered three handguns on or near the males — two 9 mm pistols and a .45-caliber revolver.
They were identified as Malik Hayes, 19, of the 8400 block of Williams St., and Sean Kelly, 28, of the 100 block of Logan St.
Both were charged with robbery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, weapons violations and related offenses.
When officers entered the apartment, Navas was still taped to the chair. His wife of 16 years was not at home when the break-in occurred.
Police investigators used K-9 unit dogs to search the area for additional evidence.
Navas spent several hours at Frankford Hospital-Torresdale and was released that night. Police sources say he initially claimed that nothing was stolen, then later mentioned the $2,000 cash. He also has provided little in the way of descriptions of the men.
Navas, who has a clean record in Philadelphia, told the Times that he has no idea why the men targeted him. He’s not sure what his friend, whom he did not name, was planning to do with the money.
"I don’t know what these people were looking for," he said of the robbers.
The episode gave him a big scare, so much so he says that he’s seriously considering moving his family. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com