Gunmen rob, assault victims in apartment

BY GLENN SMITH
Of The Post and Courier Staff

     Two masked gunmen burst into a Remount Road apartment early Thursday, robbing three people inside and assaulting two of the victims, North Charleston police said.
     The incident marked the third home invasion-style robbery in the city in less than a week's time. Armed intruders entered homes on Stonehaven Drive and Spoleto Lane over the weekend, robbing the occupants of cash and belongings at gunpoint, authorities said.
     Detective Lt. George Tetanich said police are looking into possible links, but had not determined whether the incidents were connected. No arrests have been made in the robberies, he said.
     In the latest incident, which occurred at 1:30 a.m. Thursday, two men carrying revolvers forced open a steel door to the apartment and shouted "ATF! ATF! ATF!" The gunmen forced three people inside to lie on the floor. A fourth man inside hid under a bed during the robbery, according to a police report.
     The gunmen told the victims their boss had sent them to collect some money and demanded to know where it was. While one gunman rifled through drawers and cabinets, the other intruder sexually assaulted two female victims, both 19, a police report stated.
     The men escaped from the residence with $500 in cash and $200 worth of belongings, police said.
     The robbery came four days after three masked men kicked in the door of a Stonehaven Drive home and robbed a 30-year-old woman at gunpoint while her six children looked on.
     The robbers stole car keys and a cell phone in the 5:45 a.m. holdup, police said.
     On Saturday, three men with guns broke into a Spoleto Lane apartment, forced a man inside to lie on the floor and stole $100 in cash, police said. During the hold-up, the intruders fired three shots from a pistol into a bedroom after a dog confronted them. One of the rounds punctured a waterbed, police said.
     The victim, 23-year-old William Gerard Young of Mount Pleasant, was arrested after police discovered 55.6 grams of powder cocaine in the apartment, according to a police report.
     Young was charged with trafficking cocaine and possession of the drug near a school. His bail was set at $25,000.
    
     Glenn Smith covers police and crime. Contact him at 937-5556 or at gsmith@postandcourier.com.