MANATEE — The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has released a composite sketch of a possible suspect in one in a recent string of violent home invasion robberies.
Authorities say the sketch may depict the man who on March 13 broke into a home in the 8200 block of 19th Avenue Northwest, Bradenton, bound an 84-year-old woman with a cord and pistol whipped her. He reportedly told the woman he was looking for drugs.
The victim said her attacker was wearing a mask, but a witness outside reported seeing a man carrying a red backpack running from the house. His description helped investigators develop the sketch released Wednesday, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
“We’re assuming this is the guy who did it,” said sheriff’s office spokesman Dave Bristow.
The suspect was described as standing 6 feet tall and weighing 170 to 200 pounds.
Bristow said late Wednesday that detectives have not been able to establish a link between the March 13 robbery and any of nine other similar attacks recently in Manatee and Sarasota counties. He did say that a witness in another of the attacks also reported seeing a man with a red backpack.
“As far as the other ones go, we just don’t know,” Bristow said.
The latest attack came Monday as a man beat a Bradenton couple in their home in the 200 block of 32nd Street Northwest during an apparent burglary, according to Bradenton police reports. Witnesses said the couple were bound and gagged during the attack.
Investigators believe the attacker or attackers in the recent robberies have gotten away with items from the residences they have hit, but what really worries them is their willingness to act out violently.
“If burglary was his sole motivation, he could do it without hurting these people,” Bristow said. “So there is a reason these things have been so violent. We are very concerned that he seems to like it.”
The attacks, which authorities say are unprecedented in their brutality and brazen nature, continue to have law enforcement on alert and residents terrified. Detectives are still investigating if the break-ins have been committed by the same man, as they brace for the possibility of more attacks.
A Manatee County Sheriff’s Office helicopter ran surveillance operations Tuesday throughout the county to keep an eye out for any possible trouble. All road patrol deputies have also been briefed on the attacks and told to keep alert, according to Bristow.
“I have never seen anything like this, with this kind of violence in the daytime, so we are very concerned,” Bristow said.
Bristow said there does not appear to be any pattern to where the attacks have occurred, or time of day. But common threads have emerged, such as the victims have mostly been older women in their 60s or older, the attacks have been committed during daylight hours, and the victims have been bound and beaten.
Descriptions of the attacker in the cases have varied.
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