Local police are searching for another set of suspects in a home invasion robbery after a teenager reported being attacked by an armed masked man who had broken into his home on Goggin Lane.
That incident was the second home robbery reported in Danville on Thursday. A total of four suspects have been identified in the two cases but all of them remain at large.
Boyle County Sheriff Marty Elliott said a 15-year-old boy confronted a masked man with a gun who had forced his way into his family’s residence on Goggin Lane about 9 p.m. The man began beating the boy, who was able to remove the mask during the struggle. The boy, who was not seriously injured, said he knew the intruder and identified him as Austin “Neal” Cox, Elliott said.
Cox allegedly grabbed the victim’s PlayStation and ran from the house before returning to throw a concrete block through a rear window in the home. Cox then ran to a tan or pewter colored Jeep Cherokee that was waiting for him.
The boy identified the getaway driver as John Ganem, 18, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, with light brown hair. Cox is 19, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 155 pounds, with brown hair;
“Both of these men are considered armed and dangerous, so we ask people not to try to apprehend either of the suspects if they see them,” Elliott said. “They should immediately call 911.”
Home invasion style robberies are becoming much more common in Boyle County and neighboring communities, according to Elliott and Danville Police Chief Tony Gray.
Danville police are still seeking two men who allegedly burst into an acquaintance’s home on Denmark Drive earlier Thursday. The resident was beaten and prescription drugs and cash were taken in the robbery. Police identified Chancey T. Rainey, 32, and William Sean Rainey, 38, both of Danville, as suspects.
If the suspects in either case are apprehended, they would each be charged with first-degree robbery; a conviction would lead to a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years.
Though both incidents happened on the same day, authorities don’t believe the crimes are connected but are the result of a spike in violent crime in the area due to the escalating prescription drug addiction problem.
“In my years of law enforcement, I have never arrested a robber or burglar who was not addicted to some kind of narcotic,” Elliott said. “Unfortunately, as pill addiction increases in the area it is our belief that violent robberies as well as burglaries in general will continue to increase.”
