Astute neighbor calls police after 4 men break into home with elderly man inside; standoff ensues

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. -- A total of four men were arrested after a violent home invasion turned into an hours-long standoff with police on Tuesday morning in Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County.

Chopper 6 was overhead as two men were taken into custody following the incident in the 300 block of Cambridge Road.

The suspects are identified as 22-year-old Anthony Sabatino; 31-year-old Anthony Ferliano; 18-year-old Jason Hutton; and 18-year-old Walter Mattis. All four men are Philadelphia residents.

"We think it's a group of four people who were bored, got in their truck, and drove up to the suburbs of Philadelphia," said Plymouth Township Police Chief Joe Lawrence.

It all began around 8:30 a.m. when a neighbor called police to report a pair of suspicious men knocking on the front and rear doors of a home.

When no one answered, two other men got out of a truck and entered the home through a front window, police said.

Investigators believe the men were knocking to see if anyone was home. When no one answered they broke in, only to be confronted by the homeowner, a man in his 70s who lives alone.

The victim later told police the suspects hit him in the head and stuck a gun in his mouth, threatening to kill him. Police believe the victim was targeted at random.

Luckily, next door neighbor Carol Bergman was home and looking outside around 8:30 a.m. when the suspects showed up.

"And all of a sudden I saw this black truck come up, and a guy jumped out and he had a hoodie on," said Bergman.

She immediately called police when, she says, the suspects knocked on all the doors, and then climbed through a window.

"Took the screen off and he opened up the window - jumped in," she said.

Officers arrived on the scene to find three men running away, and all three were taken into custody. They later determined that one of those men was the victim trying to escape.

When officers approached the home, they say one of the remaining suspects pointed a gun at them, then barricaded himself inside the home with another man.

The SWAT team was called in, and around 11:40 a.m. the suspects inside the home surrendered.

The two men could be seen exiting the home with their hands over their heads. Then, one at a time, they walked backwards toward police and were taken into custody.

They will be charged with home invasion, burglary and weapons offenses.