JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three weeks after three men were caught on tape breaking into a Fort Carolina home, Jacksonville police arrested a trio of suspects accused of home invasion robbery.
Nakia Anthony Bryant, Gerard Brookins and Henry Hicks are accused of forcing their way in a home on Oak Bay Drive, where they terrorized two women and child before getting away with some of their property.
Recommended Videos
Police said the suspects might still be on the loose if it weren't for the pictures taken by a security camera the family had installed above its front door.
The victim, Shelita McGowan, talked to Channel 4 about the terrifying ordeal just hours after it took place. She said her family had the camera up for only about a week when the men kicked down her front door.
"It was like tunnel vision because all I saw was a gun at my head," McGowan said.
She said when the suspects broke in they were vicious, pointing a gun at everyone, including her 3-year-old daughter.
"They pointed a gun at her head and told her to lay down. They drug me around the house," McGowan said.
Police said the pictures from the camera were why the suspects were arrested.
"Viewers saw these individuals going into the house; they recognized them and called Crimestoppers," said Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson.
Police reports show that one suspect, Henry Hicks, turned in the other two suspects by using their nicknames. Hicks told police "Lilrod" and "Poopey" were the other suspects in the robbery.
Police were then able to compare the suspects' pictures to the surveillance shots from the McGowans' home.
"These pictures were clear. There was no modification that needed to be done. The pictures showed the individual persons as they are," Jefferson said. "These are some very dangerous individuals. We're very fortunate to have a viewer or viewers contact Crimestoppers and give us a tip we needed."
Since the robbery, the McGowan family has upgraded security at their home.
All three suspects are being held on felony charges of home invasion robbery.