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NY man ties up couple during Kansas City home invasion

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A family is shaken after a man attacked and tied them up inside their home so he could rob them.

Jason Hance, 34, is charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of robbery, four counts of armed criminal action and a single count of burglary.

The Shults family remains baffled over what Hance did to them Monday night.

Police said the man from Russell, New York broke into the Shults's house through a basement window, went upstairs and right into Trina's path. 

"He grabbed my hand with a knife in it and told me to shut the f*** up and come with him," Trina Shults told Kansas City-based KSHB on Wednesday. 

She said Hance dragged her around the house while her husband, Eric, was walking the dog. 

"He put me in a chair and he put my own apron — a jean fabric apron — over my head and then tied my own hairdryer around my neck," Trina Shults said.

When Eric walked in, he thought someone was playing a cruel joke.  

"And then when I found he was serious I was like, 'What the heck?' So, of course, my wife says, 'Honey, do what he says, do what he says,'" Eric Shults said. 

He said Hance threw a blanket over his head and tied his legs to a chair using a mop cord, then went on to ransack their home. 

"Every cabinet, every door in my home for an hour and a half," Trina Shults said.

They told KSHB the suspect said he was looking to sell their items to get money for a hotel room and for his 14-month-old daughter with a heart condition. 

As to why he chose their particular house?

"He was walking up the street, we have a Ford Escape, and he says, 'I saw the Escape. I wanted to escape from my problems. There's the house I need to target,'" Eric Shults said. 

As Hance was loading up the stolen goods into the Escape he encountered the Shults's son and niece. 

"He's like, 'I have your parents tied up inside if you go now you can save them.' And I said, 'Are you serious?' And he pulls a hammer and he's like, 'Yes, I'm serious. Drop your phone,'" said Austin Shults, the victims' son.

Police traced one of the victim's cell phones to a motel off of Highway 40. Officers found Hance and several of the stolen items inside one of the rooms. 

Since the incident, the Shults have installed an alarm system. 

"Why is it that someone off the street feels compelled to come in into our home and take things that don't belong to them? Get a job. Go earn your own things. You're not entitled to mine," Trina Shults said.

The suspect, Jason Hance, made his first appearance in court Wednesday afternoon. His bond is set at $150,000. 

Hance's next court date is set for April 12 at 1:30 p.m. at the Criminal Justice Center.