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3rd armed home invasion in a month rocks neighborhood near Windermere

WINDERMERE, Fla. — Masked men with handguns pretending to be police broke into a family’s home near Windermere on Sunday morning and demanded jewelry, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The two masked men woke up the family -- a 39-year-old woman and two boys, ages 8 and 11 -- shortly after 6:30 a.m. at a home along Beckman Drive off Ficquette Road, deputies said.

The men identified themselves as police, brandishing handguns and demanding jewelry, deputies said.

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One of the suspects was wearing a lanyard that said “SWAT” on it, investigators said.

The suspects left the scene, but witnesses did not see how or in which direction, according to deputies.

The victim said she and her son laid face-down on the floor while the suspects searched the house.

She said the men stole jewelry from her drawers.

The Sheriff’s Office did not provide any detailed information describing the suspects.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Office or Crimeline at 407-423-8477.

Multiple unsolved Windermere home invasions

This is the third armed home invasion by masked suspects that area along Ficquette Road has seen in the past month.

The victim of that home invasion said she was at her home -- which is about a half-mile east of Sunday's crime scene -- on Nov. 9 when she saw four masked men running from the back, sliding-glass door into her home.

Two weeks before that, a 19-year-old man was shot during a home invasion at The Retreat at Windermere apartments, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The 19-year-old man was home with his roommate when they answered a knock at the door and masked suspects rushed into their apartment and demanded cash and narcotics, deputies said.

No arrests have been made in those cases.

Orange County Capt. Carlos Torres said most of the time victims were targeted because of what was in the home, such as jewelry.

"These are crimes that the individuals know where they're going, who they're looking for and what they're looking for," he said.

The Sheriff's Office said it does not believe the home invasions are related.