Oldsmar man injured in early-morning home invasion
OLDSMAR (FOX 13) - Deputies in Pinellas County are searching for three people that stormed into a home in Oldsmar Monday morning.
Just after 4 a.m., Matthew Koska heard a knock at his door. It was a woman who said she needed to use his telephone.
"Someone was banging on my door," he said. "Right then, it was just a bull rush. One smacked me in the face with a pipe."
Three in total -- the woman and two men -- forced their way inside his home. One of the men pressed a gun into the side of Koska’s face.
"It had a laser at the end of it. It was pretty intense," he said.
They began shouting, Koska says, with Spanish accents.
"Said I tried to kill their friend, or something like that I was like ‘man, you have the wrong house.’"
Koska told deputies the trio fumbled through his prescription pills, looking for drugs. They ultimately made off with his phone.
"I lost all my phone numbers," he said. "All my pictures. I am 54 years old. My whole life is in that phone."
Deputies say the group went to the apartment next door to try the same thing. Koska’s neighbors were able to call 911 before the suspects got inside.
Deputies believe those occupants may have been the intended target.
"You screwed up man, you got the wrong house,” Koska said.
Deputies searched the area with a helicopter and a K-9 unit, but came up empty.
They believe they may have gotten away with the help of a vehicle.