VANCOUVER - Michael Paseska and Sarah Edwards were asleep when they say they were startled awake by a man waving a gun around in their bedroom.
“He’s just coming closer and holding the gun,” said Paseska.
“It was like a movie,” said Edwards.
Paseska said the man was yelling "where’s this girl’s stuff" over and over.
“I said, 'I don’t know what stuff you want,'" Paseska said. "Whatever you want just take it. Don’t kill me.”
The couple said it was a group of men who allegedly broke into their Penticton home Wednesday morning.
“And then he came up to the bed on me and smashed the gun in the back of my head and it went off,” said Paseska.
He said it went off maybe three or four times. Bullet holes can be seen in the wall around his bed.
“I didn’t know if he just shot me in the head,” he said. “There was blood coming down my, the back of my head. And there was blood coming down the front of my face.”
The couple was then told to “get down on the floor,” said Paseska. “And he’s yelling to his friends, 'Get a gag. We’re going to gag them. We’re going to gag them both.
Somehow, he managed to escape out the sliding door while Edwards hid in their closet under a blanket. They said the men then went through the home, and allegedly taking valuables such as electronics and musical instruments.
As the men pulled away, Paseska said, he ran after them.
“I ran up to the car and I looked inside and I [saw] the guy there with the glasses on, no bandana on, the other guys all had bandanas still.”
While attempting to break the car window, he said he broke his hand and the group sped off.
Penticton RCMP responded to the call at 12:15 p.m. and wrapped the home in police tape. Their investigation then led them to a house nearby, near Maple Street and Bird Avenue, and a four-hour standoff followed. The standoff took place close to an elementary school and a day care, and led to a large area of the neighbourhood being put behind police tape. The suspects eventually left the home, and several people were arrested.
Two men are now facing charges in connection to the alleged home invasion.
Josef Bretislav Pavlik has been charged with breaking and entering, robbery and using a restricted firearm.
Jesse Eldon Harry Mason is also charged with robbery.
Paseska said he knew the suspects and believes the motivation for the alleged break-in was a simple robbery. He said it’s not the first time he’s dealt with break-in, that his home was burgled a few months ago.
“I’m not part of the drug scene at all,” said Paseska, “it’s not my style.”
Mounties believe this was a targeted incident. On Thursday morning, they executed a search warrant at the townhouse where the standoff took place.
