A Phillips man was assaulted by two men who broke into his mobile home Friday night, demanded money and threatened to return if the man called the police.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the home invasion and searching for the two men involved. The victim described one man as being between 5 feet, 8 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches and the second man as closer 6 feet tall and weighing roughly 150 pounds, according to a news release Monday from Sheriff Scott Nichols.

The 52-year-old victim, who lives alone, told police that he was awakened around 10 p.m. by two men dressed in camouflage clothing, face masks and gloves who had entered his camper-style trailer, Nichols said in an interview Monday.

The victim said the taller man had a baseball bat with him that he threatened to beat him with it if he didn’t turn over the money. Nichols said he did not believe that the victim was hit with the bat, only that the men punched and kicked him.

After assaulting the man, the two men tied him to a chair using duct tape, put a bag over his head and said they would “hurt him further if he did not give them any money he had,” the release said.

The victim told the men he had about $30 in cash in his wallet, which they took. Before leaving, they threatened to return if the man called the police.

Once the men left, the homeowner was able to free himself from the duct tape and went to a neighbor’s house around 10:20 p.m. to call police.

The man thinks the pair walked to his mobile home on Weld Road, because he did not hear a vehicle, the release said. Nichols said there were no signs of forced entry, adding that he thinks the trailer wasn’t locked.

Detectives Stephen Charles, Ken Charles and Lt. David St. Laurent went to the scene to process it for evidence.

Nichols said there are no leads, but that detectives are working on a “few things they got” from the scene. Nichols said he could not elaborate, as the investigation is ongoing.

Nichols does not think the Phillips incident is related to an armed home invasion that occurred April 2 in Jay, in which a man believed to be armed with a handgun entered an unlocked home on Morse Hill Road.

The 54-year-old homeowner was not assaulted or harmed by the intruder, but the homeowner was instructed to put a blanket over his head while items were taken from his home.

The Jay Police Department is working on following leads in that case, Detective Michael Mejia said Monday.

Nichols said the sheriff’s office has investigated home invasions in the past, but he said they are “not frequent” in Franklin County.

Last month, a Franklin County inmate who escaped from custody during transport broke into a home on Livermore Falls Road in Wilton and allegedly assaulted the homeowner before stealing her car and leading police on a chase. The inmate crashed the vehicle and was taken back into police custody. However, Nichols stressed the circumstances of that home invasion are different from the circumstances of the Phillips incident.

Nichols asked that anyone who might have information about the Phillips home invasion contact the sheriff’s office at 778-2680.

Lauren Abbate — 861-9252

labbate@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Lauren_M_Abbate

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