Armed robbery gone awry! Homeowners with machetes and sticks take on 5 robbers armed with a shotgun, and Win!

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office arrested five men from South Florida in connection with an Armed Robbery that occurred early Thursday morning in Sarasota.



Just after 4:45 a.m., the Public Safety Communications Center received a report of a suspicious person armed with a rifle, at a home in the 2100 block of Dodge Avenue. As deputies were responding, more information was gathered indicating that the homeowner disarmed the suspect and was holding him until law enforcement arrived. As calltakers gathered details and deputies began to arrive, the victim advised that two more suspects were involved and fled prior to law enforcement arrival. Based on a description of the suspect's vehicle, deputies were able to quickly locate it at a gas station in the 5600 block of Fruitville Road. Four men wearing dark clothing were found inside the car, one of whom was carrying several zip ties.



All five men were interviewed by detectives and two of them admitted to committing the robbery. As detectives continued to gather evidence, they recovered surveillance video from the victim's home which captured the entire incident. Video shows Alen Beltran-Vazquez, Angel Cabrera-Basulto and Ronier Jauregui-Lorente enter the victim's porch armed with a shotgun, machete and crowbar, in an attempt to rob the victim. Cabrera-Basulto and Jauregui-Lorente are seen fleeing the home while the victim arms himself with a machete and holds Beltran-Vazquez until deputies arrive.



Detectives identified Jorge Valido-Leyva and Roberto Salcedo-Balanza as the other men in the vehicle and through interviews, learned that they helped coordinate and plan the robbery.