Man forces way into Revere home; police investigating

REVERE – Police are investigating an alleged incident in which a man suspected of having a gun forced his way into a Winthrop Avenue home Tuesday after asking the resident if he could shovel his driveway.When police arrived at 936 Winthrop Ave. about 7:05 p.m., officers initially detained the male resident who was holding a fireplace poker after fearing for their safety. Once the scene calmed down, police gathered that a man, who the victim and his wife never met before, had forced his way into their home after knocking on their door and asking if they wanted him to shovel snow.Police said the wife answered the door and before she could open it, a man’s voice was heard asking if he could shovel. The woman, thinking the person was a neighbor, opened the door slightly and told the man that her husband would be shoveling their driveway and his services were not needed.Instead of leaving, the man allegedly pushed his way into the home and had alcohol on his breath.The woman yelled at the man to stop then ran out of the house in fear, police said. Her husband came out of another room when he heard the commotion.The suspect allegedly came at the husband with a shovel and the two struggled in the front hallway, which resulted in the shovel breaking into two pieces.The resident was able to push the assailant outside where he continued to struggle with the victim before slipping on a patch of ice, according to police.The husband and wife tried to run back into the house when the suspect got up and yelled, “Yeah, yeah” while holding his hand in his pocket, making the residents believe he had a gun, police said.They ran into the home and tried to shut the door, but in the chaos the wife’s slipper got caught in the door and they couldn’t close it completely. The suspect tried again to force his way into the home but eventually ran away.Police units searched the neighborhood for the suspect to no avail. He was described as a Latino male, about 5-foot-5, 130 pounds, clean shaven, with a faint mustache and medium to light brown skin. He was wearing a dark, bulky winter coat, dark scarf and a dark knit cap that was possibly red.Police said one of the suspect’s gloves was left behind at the scene, as well as part of the broken shovel.