By Mike Schnitzel
Police said that the suspect, identified as Raymond Beck, was arrested by 5th Precinct police officer Dario Pierre on North Corona Avenue in Valley Stream at around 5 a.m. on Saturday, March 10, after the suspect allegedly broke into a home on Wyngate Drive East a half-hour earlier.
According to Nassau police spokeswoman Jean DeLuca, Beck also has been linked to a break-in that occurred last week at a home on East St. Mark¹s Place in Valley Stream after the homeowner identified his picture in a mug shot book.
During that burglary, police said, the 40-year-old homeowner discovered Beck in his house after he heard the sound of a safety gate opening in the dining room. According to Police Officer Stan Slevinski, a crime analyst for the 5th Precinct, the homeowner believed his son had arrived home, and after shouting down to him, realized the voice that responded was not his son¹s.
The homeowner ran down the stairs to find a stranger standing in his dining room and holding his wife¹s purse. After a brief struggle, Beck was able to escape through a side door and was last seen running west on East St. Mark¹s Place and then down Cottage Street, police said. The homeowner was not injured during the struggle, police added.
Neighbors who described their street as relatively quiet were surprised that the burglary occurred on their block.
Lou Robino said that even though the area has changed over the years, the burglary ³hit a little closer to home² because it happened on his street.
³We try to be more careful now,² said Robino, who has since equipped his property with motion-detection lights. ³Now when I come home, I¹ll check the yard and make sure no one is snooping around.²
Beck was charged with first-degree burglary, a Class-B felony,
for the Feb. 28 burglary. He was also charged with two counts of second-degree burglary, a Class-C felony, for the March 10 burglary and for a burglary that occurred in Malverne on Feb. 22.
Beck was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on March 11. Officials said Beck is being held without bail, and his next court date is scheduled for March 14.
Mike Russo contributed to this story. Comments about this story? Mschnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
