The victim in that attack is a well-known barber in the Visalia area. Thursday morning he was attacked and robbed at gunpoint inside his home on near Caldwell and County Center Drive.
Carl Richey says he was caught off-guard Thursday by a suspect who knew what he was after. He wanted his guns, and told Richey he was willing to kill him to get them. In the end, all the intruder got was some cash.
"I opened the door, and he hit me right between the eyes," said Carl Richey. "I had no time to duck or even think."
For 25 minutes Carl Richey was hit, kicked and punched during a bold home invasion robbery.
"I fell over and went down here, and then he proceeded to kick the fire out of me," said Richey. "And he pulled out his 45 and he says I want the combination to the safe and I said not in this life."
Richey says the suspect closed his door and locked it for a showdown that would include countless piercing blows and fierce words.
"Basically I said do it, I said then you kill me, then you don't get the guns either," said Richey. "I said then they can hunt you down, I said but you aren't getting the guns no matter what. Then he beat on me some more."
The 64 year old gun collector says he's always armed, except when he goes to work. Since he was getting ready to leave, he had just locked his gun up, when the intruder forced his way in.
Richey said, "I'm an old man, I can't whip the world, I'm too old, but I can still pull a finger."
Richey has a black eye and bruised face. His hands and arms are also swollen and bruised from raising them to guard his face. Just when he felt like he couldn't handle the beating anymore, Richey seized an opportunity that ended up sending the suspect running. "I heard noise outside on the sidewalk and I said ok, I just screamed for help, and I kept screaming for help and he cut and run, left the door open."
After a night in the hospital, Richey returned to his barber shop Friday morning, but only made it through one haircut.
"My problem isn't my hands, although they do hurt, my problem is my ribs, I can't breathe," said Richey. "I have to take short breaths, because it hurts. That will also go away."
Richey says he is not afraid to be alone and is still angry about what happened. He says everything happened so fast, he had forgotten his cell phone was in his shirt pocket the whole time.
No arrests have been made but Visalia police say they are getting leads and making progress on the case.
