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Neighbor gives police new leads into violent Southside home invasion

A recent home burglary is shedding new light on a horrific home invasion robbery that happened in a quiet Southside neighborhood last week.

Jacksonville, Fla. — A recent home burglary is shedding new light on a horrific home invasion robbery that happened in a quiet Southside neighborhood last week. Two masked men broke into the home of Johnathan Parker.

Parker narrowly survived after he was hogtied, beaten and tasered, while his teenage daughter was in another room. Authorities are searching for the burglars, which are described as two white men with thick country accents.

A brave woman that lives just a few blocks away recently had an encounter with two men who match that description after her condo was burglarized on April 5th.

WATCH EXCLUSIVE: Thankful to be alive, survivor of violent Southside home invasion speaks of trauma

“They stole a gun, my son’s clothes, $700 and about a week later, I noticed two men were driving suspiciously around my building,” the woman said. “I got in my car and followed them, eventually they saw me and that’s when one of the guys got out of the car with a knife and walked towards me,” she said.

Scared for her life, she attempted to grab the man’s license plate.

“All the sudden he lowers his knife and tells me he’s going to use it for a fishing trip later that afternoon,” she said.

The woman spoke with the man about her recent robbery and asked he had any information.

“He said he wasn't aware of anything, then he started acting very erratic and became very concerned,” she said. “He kept asking me repeatedly if I had any information about the suspect’s description or surveillance video.”

The woman claims the pair followed her out of her building complex and down Beach Boulevard.

“I drove into the Walmart parking lot and then I went into the Target parking lot, and each time they drove around looking for me,” she said. “I knew they were hunting me and then my biggest fears were confirmed when they followed me back to my condo."

During the drive, she called the police and had them waiting at her condo, that’s when the thieves took off.

“I reached out to the Parker family and they definitely want the word out there that violent crimes are happening in Southside and the area is no longer safe,” she said. “We want everyone to be vigilant about suspicious activity and to be careful of showing off anything you might own on social media,” she said.

Anyone with information involving these crimes is urged to contact crime-stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477). This phone is a stand-alone instrument, which does not provide caller ID, and conversations are not recorded.

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