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August 24, 2006

House hunter robbed at knifepoint

By Debbie Wachter Morris

A man who went to look at a South Side property was robbed at knifepoint inside the vacant house.

Eugene Barry Clark Jr., 39, of 513 Electric St., was arrested by New Castle police and is in the Lawrence County jail. Charges are pending against a 22-year-old woman who was his alleged accomplice, police said.

Clark is accused of stealing $300 from the 29-year-old victim.

The man said he had seen a for-sale sign at the house at 517 Electric St. and was possibly interested in buying it. He contacted the real estate agent around 5:30 p.m. Monday and said a back door was open. The agent said he could go in, he told police.

Once inside, the man said, he heard the door shut behind him. While a woman blocked the door, a man stood face-to-face with him, holding a butcher knife with a blade about eight inches long, he said.

The woman stood and smiled during the exchange between them, he recalled. The attacker told him to take off his clothes, but the man refused, he said, telling him he’d have to kill him first.

“I had my cell phone with me and he asked if I was going to call the police,” the man said.

The attacker then took the cell phone and ordered, “Give me everything in your pocket,” the man said. He reported to police that was $300 he had for his daughter’s birthday.

“They were ready to stab me,” he said. “I was afraid ... I thought I was done. I didn’t know there was anybody in there.”

He said he had considered fighting back, but instead he complied and handed over the money. All three then ran from the house.

The victim said he had never seen the attacker or his accomplice before, but noted the man had a distinctive, raspy voice. The woman was extremely thin with a pointed nose and freckles, he said.

When police found Clark later, he was wearing the same shorts and shoes as the attacker, the man said, but he had changed his shirt and was no longer wearing a headband. However, Clark still had the same mildew smell about him that was inside the house, the man said.

Neighbors provided Clark’s identity and address. Police said Clark’s mother told them the woman is his girlfriend.

When police arrived, the victim noticed Clark pulling into a driveway two houses away. He and the officers walked over to Clark and the man, after hearing Clark’s voice, identified him as his attacker.

When police arrested him, he did not have the knife or the man’s money and cell phone, and the man did not get them back.

The man said he believes Clark and the woman had broken into the empty house and were using the upstairs. Police found the original lock upstairs on the floor among clothes and drug paraphernalia that included syringes and crack pipes, he said.

Anyone who owns a vacant home for sale should periodically check the locks to make sure no one has tampered with them, the victim said.

“That could have happened to anyone.”

Clark is charged with robbery, criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, recklessly endangering and terroristic threats. He was arraigned by District Judge Melissa Amodie, who set his bond at $25,000. His preliminary hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Lawrence County Central Court.

The victim said he contacted Achieva Realty, which has the property listed.

The agent could not be reached for comment yesterday.

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