Three Philly men allegedly robbed Chester County home and took photos flaunting stolen cash

Three men from Philadelphia were arrested this week on charges of breaking into the home of a Chester County couple in January and robbing them at gunpoint, prosecutors said. During the investigation, authorities allegedly found photos the men had taken while committing the crime, including pictures of them showing off wads of stolen cash. 

The Chester County District Attorney's Office and the Easttown Township Police Department announced charges Wednesday against Julio Mendoza, 23; Louis Armstrong, 20; and Axel Reyes, 21. Investigators described the Jan. 8 break-in as "one of the greatest nightmares imaginable."

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Around 4:25 a.m., Easttown Township police were called to a home on South Leopard Road in the Berwyn section of the township for a report of an armed robbery. The homeowners said three masked men had entered the house around 2 a.m. Two of the suspects were armed with handguns and the third had an assault rifle, police said.

The three men allegedly told the homeowners that they had taken their daughter hostage and would to kill the couple if they didn't give up their cash and other valuables.

The husband told the men that his money was located at his business. He and his wife were then blindfolded and tied up, and the three men drove them to the business in their Mercedes, police said. At the business, the husband gave the men three envelopes containing a total of $19,500 in cash, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Daily Local News.

The defendants then allegedly drove the couple back to their home and tore through the house to find more valuables. They took another $8,000 in cash, $2,000 worth of jewelry, three firearms, designer clothing and a pair of Apple AirPods, police said. When the robbers left the home, they allegedly left the couple tied up in their attic and stole the Mercedes.

Investigators initially traced the Mercedes back to Philadelphia by piecing together information from automated license plate readers, which scan plates and help authorities track down vehicles involved in crimes. Police also used Apple's "Find My" app in order to pick up the location of the stolen headphones.

On Jan. 10, footage from a street camera showed Mendoza parking the Mercedes on the 400 block of East Ontario Street, police said. Mendoza then allegedly walked to a home on nearby Weymouth Street.

When police raided the home on Jan. 24, they allegedly found Mendoza and Reyes at the property and located more than $13,000 in cash. Police said they also found jewelry, clothing and a handbag that had been stolen from the home. Investigators later learned Mendoza and Reyes are cousins. Text messages found on their phones showed they had planned the robbery and appeared to know details about the property in Easttown Township, police said.

A photo found on one of the phones showed one of the masked robbers sitting on top of the Mercedes with cash fanned out in his hands, police said. Detectives identified Mendoza and Reyes using fingerprints from the Mercedes, and they allege that Armstrong was recruited by Mendoza to help carry out the robbery.

All three defendants are charged with multiple counts of felony robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, terroristic threats and firearms offenses, among other crimes, prosecutors said.

Investigators believe Reyes, Mendoza and Armstrong may have been involved in similar crimes. They said anyone with information can call Easttown Township Detectives at 610-341-9780 or Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6886.