PORTSMOUTH -- Tuesday night, Nancy Sines sat watching television in her living room in Whispering Oaks Apartment Homes. Her grandson was there with her, along with his six-month-old. With a swift kick to her patio door, three people burst into her home.
"The piece that had the, hold the deadbolt landed in my lap, and there was pieces of wood all over the floor," Sines says. "They didn't say why they were here. They didn't say what they were after or nothing."
Instead, the 75-year-old tells 13News she did most of the talking. As the first two people headed towards the bedrooms in the apartment, the third, who had a gun, remained in the living room.
"I said, 'Best thing you can do is back up and go on outta here, because my grandson does have a gun, and he will use it and kill every one of ya.'"
Sines' other grandson was in one of the bedrooms and does, in fact, have a gun. At that point, Sines tells 13News the intruder with the weapon broke his silence, yelling to the others to warn them. Quickly, they did an about face.
"The two that was in the back almost fell over top of one another trying to get around my chair," Sines recalls. "They went straight on out, and, then, after they were gone out of the house, then I got up out of the chair, and I went out the door, hollering, 'I'm telling you, my grandson's gonna get y'all, and he's gonna kill ya,' thinking I could draw attention and people could see. Not a soul came outside, not a soul."
The 75-year-old says it's not the first time there has been a break-in at the apartments. She, herself, was the victim of similar situation when she moved to Whispering Oaks four years ago.
"You shouldn't have to live like that at my age," says Sines. "It changes your whole world. It really does," she explains. "They invaded me completely. They took away a lot of, I don't know how to even explain it to you, but you're just scared."
Sines tells 13News Portsmouth police recovered a shoe one of the three home invaders left behind.
If you have any information about who the people are or the crime, you can call Crime Line. The number is 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Callers can remain anonymous.
