Background: The area in Pinellas Park, Florida, where the alleged home invasion took place (WTSP/YouTube). Inset: Steven Houpt (Florida Department of Corrections).
A neighborhood handyman is accused of breaking into a couple”s home, tying the woman up, and lying in wait for the man to return.
According to Pinellas County court records, Steven Houpt, 57, faces charges of home invasion robbery with a weapon, two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and false imprisonment. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon.
As reported by police, Houpt arrived at a residence in the 7900 block of 72nd Way North in Pinellas Park, Florida, where McKenzie Bray was alone at home, according to Tampa CBS affiliate WTSP. Bray, mistaking him for the mailman, opened the door, which then allegedly led to a violent situation.
It is reported that Houpt forced his way inside, struck Bray in the head, and bound her. He then allegedly waited for Bray’s fiancé, James Allen, to return home. Upon Allen’s arrival, Houpt reportedly attacked him with a screwdriver and a knife, stabbing him multiple times, as police indicated.
Despite this, the couple—whose ages were not provided—managed to fight back, with Allen seizing the suspect’s knife for self-defense, as he later recounted to police.
“He had her bound and taped on the bed,” Allen described to local NBC affiliate WFLA. “His plan was to knock me out when I got home, tie us both up, and steal our money.”
“He stabbed me in the eye with a screwdriver and then in the hand with a knife,” Allen added. “I took his knife from him and started stabbing him.”
When officers arrived, they said they found Bray and Allen – and also Houpt, who was lying on the living room floor with stab wounds. The couple was treated for non-life-threatening wounds, and Houpt was hospitalized and later arrested after being listed as stable.
Houpt was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Wednesday morning. He is set to appear in court for the first time on Thursday afternoon.
According to Bray, they knew Houpt before the violent home invasion – and ostensibly trusted him enough to seek his expertise.
“He did a little bit of work for us, fixing up damage done by hurricanes and just trying to get the house in better shape,” she told WFLA.
Neighbors believe the suspect had a plan. The power was out in the neighborhood for several hours that afternoon, rendering cameras useless and leaving homeowners vulnerable.
Houpt has multiple prior criminal offenses, according to Florida Department of Corrections records, including being sentenced in 2017 to three years in prison for burglary.
