ARCHIVED - Two women threatened with gun and tied up by armed robbers in Orihuela
The terrified 80-year-old and her dog walker were gagged and tied up with duct tape at the pensioner's Vega Baja home in Alicante province
A man and a woman have been arrested and charged in connection with a violent robbery in Orihuela Costa in which an 80-year-old woman and her dog walker, 17, were threatened with a gun, gagged and tied up with duct tape.
The suspects stole €1,050 and jewellery during the robbery.
The younger victim told police she had gone to the home of the elderly woman, who lives alone, in early July, as she did every morning to take the lady's dog for a walk. But as she was leaving the property, she was approached by two people who pointed a gun at her and forced her back into the house.
The teenager and the pensioner were then threatened and tied up while the 37-year-old Ecuadorian man and Spanish woman, 19, allegedly stole an envelope containing €800 from a bedside drawer and €280 from the pensioner's handbag, along with a high-end watch and gold jewellery.
The pair fled, leaving the two women tied up, but the younger victim managed to loosen the duct tape and call the Guardia Civil, who quickly identified one of the robbers as a man who had worked at the woman's house for two years before being sacked on suspicion of stealing.
The female suspect was identified through the victims' descriptions, and she and her alleged accomplice were arrested on July 15. Their Torrevieja homes were searched where police found €1,300, lots of jewellery, and "various items possibly used for criminal activity", though the gun has not yet been located.
The 37 and 19-year-old appeared at Torrevieja court this week, charged with robbery using violence and intimidation and were both remanded into custody without bail.
Officers continue to study all of the evidence and items recovered to try to locate the rightful owners.
IMAGE: Guardia Civil