Robber held gun to elderly woman’s head in Pierce County home invasion

A 78-year-old woman was asleep in her Pierce County house when a masked man forced his way inside and put a gun to her head.

The robber, who was wearing gloves, wrapped a robe around the woman’s head and made off with her jewelry, purse and a handgun.

The home invasion took place on 112th Street East in the Brookdale area. The woman was shaken up but not seriously injured.

It happened about 3:40 a.m. on April 1.

Less than an hour later, the robber used a debit card stolen from the woman at an ATM on Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest in Lakewood and at a Chevron gas station on Bridgeport Way Southwest.

Pierce County sheriff’s detectives are asking for help in identifying the robber, who is described as a white man in his 20s or 30s. He was wearing a ski mask and a dark jacket with a logo on the right chest area.

At the gas station where he used the victim’s debit cards, the man was seen in a dark BMW with a broken passenger side headlight.

Anyone with information is asked to call Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Robber held gun to elderly woman’s head in Pierce County home invasion."