Louis and Irene Rosen are a nice elderly couple living in Pompano Beach, Florida. When their neighbor’s son, Leonard Benitez, asked to borrow some salt, they welcomed him inside with no hesitation.
Turns out that Benitez didn’t really need that salt, and once inside their home, he pulled out a gun AND a knife… at the same time.
He told them what REALLY wanted was cold hard cash… $50,000 to be exact. He waved his gun and knife around and ordered them to give up their bank account information.
Louis and Irene Rosen were shocked. Here in this nightmarish moment, a simple request for salt turned into a home invasion and robbery.
In a suddent moment of violence, Benitez pistol whipped Luis Rosen, hitting this friendly 99 year-old-man in the head with a gun.
Irene Rosen said:
“I was scared to death”
But she was still brave. In fact, she was able to break away and call 911.
She managed to escape when Broward County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at their home in Tamarac.
“I am not a gun person,” said Irene Rosen, in a particularly bizarre statement coming from anyone living in Florida, The Gunshine State. “I’ve never been around guns.”
When the BSO SWAT team showed up at their home, Louis Rosen was still trapped inside with the violent Leonard Benitez.
Louis was held hostage for about two hours, until Benitez finally surrendered.
Louis Rosen was taken to North Broward Health, where he was treated for the lacerations he suffered when Benitez hit him in the head with the gun.
Benitez was arrested on charges that include home invasion, battery, false imprisonment of an adult and kidnapping. He is being held in jail without bond.
Irene Rosen reflects:
“I try to think of the positive and say, ‘What an adventure we had,’ an adventure I could have done without…”
This all went down at 7104 NW 70th St (near the Woodmont Country Club) in Tamarac, a small town in Broward County near Pompano Beach, Florida.
Update: Authorities reported Benitez requested a cup of sugar, but victims said Benitez requested a cup of salt.
Sources: palmbeachpost.com, local10.com
