Remind You Of Anyone?

Victim: Robbers thought they were 'Robin Hood'
by Heidi Homa - Oct. 30, 2008 10:31 AM
The Arizona Republic

SCOTTSDALE - The three men who invaded and robbed the Scottsdale home of a 68-year-old man claimed the crime was "their own form of redistribution of wealth," the victim said, "sort of like Robin Hood."

The invaders beat, choked and tied up Keith Nickels and his girlfriend, 61, Tuesday.

Nickels gave this account:

He was asleep in bed at home, near 85th Street and Wethersfield Road, when he was woken at 4 a.m. by a hit in the head and in the face, while his girlfriend was being choked.

"They said, 'If you quit fighting, we'll quit hitting,'" Nickels said. "They didn't, and I didn't."

The beatings continued until he and his girlfriend eventually passed out. When they awoke, they were tied up and had pillowcases over their heads.

After the beatings, the three men were "quite cordial." They allowed his girlfriend to go to the bathroom, and they spoke to him politely on and off during the 2½ hours that the men ransacked the home.

Afterwards, Nickels and his girlfriend were placed in separate closets, with dressers leaned against the doors and against each other to form a V, to prevent them from getting out easily.

The robbers told them not to get up. They said there were cameras in the closets, but Nickels didn't believe them.

He stayed there for five minutes, pulled the pillowcase off, and used a walking stick from inside the closet to push one dresser upright and allow himself to escape.

He then yanked the dresser from in front of the other closet door, let his girlfriend out, and called 911. He also made sure to get a knife out of a nearby cabinet.

Police arrived, and Nickels and his girlfriend were transported to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn, where their injuries were treated and they were released Tuesday evening, police said.

Nickels was bleeding all over and had 27 stitches in his forehead, eye and ear, he said.

Suspect descriptions are limited at this time, police said. However, Nickels said he thought they were young guys around 30.

"It's kind of cowardly, I think," Nickels said about the attack.

But he also feels that he was "too complacent" in his attitude. "We live in a nice part of town and thought nothing like this would ever happen here," Nickels said. "I've been here 20 years, and it's the first (invasion) in the neighborhood I've ever heard of."

Nickels is trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. He's had the locks on his home changed, as well as the garage code. He also plans to have a more sufficient security system installed that will immediately notify police if there is an invasion.

Now all he can do is try to get past the trauma.

"I think we'll be OK," he said. "It's going to take a little while."