And when a 16-year-old inhabitant of the Burnham Road home came to the door, Phong Quyen Ly pulled out a silver handgun and forced his way into the house.
Three men followed him, also with silver handguns, and the four bound the 16-year-old and his two grandparents - one of them 80 years old - with duct tape. Then they stole $64,000 worth of items, according to the arrest warrant, including a Rolex watch and a small safe filled with $30,000. None of the victims was injured.
16 months later, Ly, 33, has been extradited from jail in Houston, Texas, to face charges including first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery in connection with the 2007 home invasion.
"(It was) a long case, and it took a lot of good teamwork," said West Hartford Police Sgt. Andrew Schiffer.
The West Hartford home was outfitted with outside video surveillance, which helped solve the case. Though the burglars tried to tamper with the equipment with a screwdriver, officers were able to recover the footage, which showed the faces of the four men.
When Det. Mark Pugielli circulated a flyer with the faces of the four suspects throughout New England and New York state, it caught the attention of Boston Police Det. Robert Fratalia, who recognized Ly from investigating an international drug-trafficking organization involving Asians, according to the warrant.
Ly's address is listed in Dorchester, Mass.
As a result of the drug-trafficking investigation, law enforcement officers noticed a pattern of home invasions aimed at people of Asian descent across New England, according to the arrest warrant, including a home invasion Wethersfield in 2006 and one in Weymouth, Mass., in 2008.
Police believe the reason that new immigrants were targeted may be a tendency to distrust banks and therefore have a lot of cash on hand, as well as misgivings about going to authorities for help.
"There tends to be some sort of a code of silence among the Asian community. They handle things themselves," said Schiffer.
Back in Boston, police were also able to identify the car in the surveillance tape, a car that belonged to Ly.
The car was a Toyota Highlander in an unusual color, called oasis green pearl, which was only available for purchase for a couple of years. Police were even able to locate the dealer who sold Ly the car.
By this time, though, Ly had made his way to Texas. Pugielli's sources told him that Ly was probably in the Houston area, and he alerted Texas police.
After six months of rumored sightings, Ly was pulled over during a traffic stop, then arrested in connection with the 2007 home invasion.
Pugielli and Det. Dane Semper flew out to Houston and brought Ly back from Harris County Jail on a commercial flight to the state.
He is being held on $950,000 bail and is scheduled to next appear in Hartford Superior Court on April 13.
The other three suspects in the home invasion have been identified, but no arrests have been made.