Beware of who you allow in your home and what they might see. That is just one lesson learned as one Pennsylvania family’s need to declutter led to tragedy for another.
Kelvin Roberts and Charles Fulforth were arrested and charged this past December with murder, burglary, and related offenses in connection with a wrong-house home invasion that left Andrew Gaudio dead and his mother, Bernadette Gaudio, paralyzed.
“The motive in this case was to steal guns, and they simply got the wrong house… They went into the wrong house with bad intentions and shot an innocent 61-year-old woman as she lay in her bed, and they executed her 25-year-old son,” according to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.
Investigators say that Bernadette Gaudio called 911 just before 2:30 AM on December 8 as she lay in bed with multiple gunshot wounds in her home on Meredith Road in Wynnewood. Roberts and Fulforth broke into the home through the basement intending to steal firearms and ammunition but had the wrong house, according to Steele.
Now, a third man has been charged in connection with the home invasion, 26-year-old Jeremy Fuentes of Philadelphia. Authorities say that Fuentes, Roberts and Fulforth were operating a gun trafficking ring, providing firearms to criminals and otherwise prohibited individuals. All three men worked at Junkluggers, a junk removal business out of Willow Grove. Steele says Fuentes tipped off Roberts and Fulforth about a home in Bucks County that had a similar address to the Gaudio residence in Wynnewood.
According to Steele, Fuentes had provided a junk removal estimate at a home in Bucks County on December 6 when he identified a large gun safe, firearm boxes, gun parts and ammunition at the residence that were unrelated to the estimate. That’s when Fuentes allegedly called Fulforth, tipping him off and noting that the homeowners were elderly.
“Fuentes is the individual who goes, does the estimate on the home in Bucks County, relays that information to Fulforth and that’s the impetus on why they go to this residence,” says Steele.
Authorities shared some of the evidence they had collected at a press conference, including machine gun conversion devices for altering semi-automatic firearms to fire full-auto. Steele is confident that the dismantling of this gun trafficking ring provides additional safety for the community, with six criminals having been rounded up as a result of the investigation thus far. Police, however, are still searching for two outstanding suspects.
“We’re looking for Marcus Lee Jackson and Corry Simpson. If anyone knows where they are, don’t approach… Call police,” Steele said.
For his role in the home invasion and the death of Andrew Gaudio, Fuentes is being charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy.
From the tragedy and sheer terror that both the victims and intended victims must have felt, this story highlights the dangers associated with strangers in your home and what they have access to. Of course, nobody should need to fear having a business enter their home to provide services, but that isn’t the world we live in. Lock up expensive or sensitive items out of sight during these visits and take precautions to ensure your family’s privacy and safety.
