BY JENN McDOWELL

Robert Cyra of Hooksett, 74, said if his wolf-husky mix Malibu were still alive, the three masked men who entered his home in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Oct. 27, and robbed him of  thousands in cash, jewelry and his 2004 Ford Explorer would not have gotten far.

Cyra is offering a $1,000 reward for tips that come through the police department that lead to the apprehension of a viable suspect.

The three men broke into  the disabled veteran’s Prescott Heights home sometime before 1:30 a.m. by cutting a hole in a back porch screen, avoiding several motion-sensing lights, and kicking in the door leading into the main part of the house.

Cyra, who suffers from emphysema, was asleep when the men stormed into his bedroom. One of them sat on his chest  while the other two ransacked his drawers and closet, repeatedly asking where the safe was. Judging from their voices, Cyra said, he believes the men were in their 30s.

“They shined the flashlights in my face and said they were police,” Cyra said. “The police do not wear masks. The police show themselves.”

Attempting to throw them off, Cyra said he would have a heart attack and asked for his nebulizer, which one of the men retrieved.

The men carried out a safe containing a cash inheritance of about $50,000, pieces of diamond and gold jewelry, uncirculated coins, Cyra’s G.I. Bill, the deed to his home, and his last will and testament, Cyra said.

“They were after money, jewelry, anything they could sell for dope,” Cyra said, adding that one of them mistakenly called another by name.

The three men also took hundreds of dollars and the keys to the tan Explorer – which he just purchased in March – from his wallet, plus his sleeping pills and post-traumatic stress medication, as well as his Air Force ring and dog tags, Cyra said.

The men left other medications behind, including his blood pressure pills.

“They knew which ones to take,” he said.

Cyra phoned police after the men left, who responded at 1:42 a.m. according to a police statement.

Detective Jake Robie of the Hooksett Police Department said this appears to be an isolated incident.

“We do not believe it to be a random act,” Robie said during a phone call on Monday, Oct. 28. “We have some leads we’re following up on, but nothing we can give out at this time.”

Cyra also said he has some idea of who might have “set him up,” adding that a neighbor reported seeing three men running through Cyra’s yard a few weeks prior to the break in.

“I have a good idea. I could be wrong. I hope I am,” he said.

While he owns a pistol, Cyra said it was in the drawer of a night stand that he could not reach without attracting attention.

“That night I had a hunch to put it on top, but I didn’t,” he said.

Cyra said he moved into the house five years ago to get away from Manchester, where that home was robbed of valuable antiques, pottery and pistols.

“I like this place. There are some beautiful homes around here,” Cyra said, adding that he didn’t expect such a thing to happen in his quiet residential neighborhood.

He added that the Hooksett Police Department is doing all it can to catch the three suspects.

“I heard these guys are pretty sharp out here,” said Cyra, adding that the police were diligent at the scene and have been following up with him regularly.

Cyra said he is most upset about the stolen deed, G.I. Bill and will, adding that he has been generous with the inheritance when family and friends fell on hard times.

“I made a promise to help people if I could because I know what it is to have no money,” Cyra said.

The Hooksett Police Department is appealing to the public for any information regarding the case.

Anyone who has seen the stolen tan Explorer, New Hampshire license plate number 1013, or with credible information about the case is asked to call the department at 624-1560.