By JOSEPH KELLARD
Two men entered the man's residence on Xavier Place through a window and confronted his 44-year-old wife, waking her up and demanding cash at about 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 25, according to Fourth Precinct detectives.
"One of these individuals was in her bedroom and told her to keep in the bed, and stated that they were there to rob the house," said Detective Lt. Gregory Detwiller. "She said, 'We don't have anything to rob.'"
One suspect went to the den, where the woman's 43-year-old husband was sleeping. The suspect punched him in the head and demanded cash.
"In defending his family, he got into a scuffle with this suspect, and the other suspect joined him," Detwiller explained. "But the husband was able to fight him off and chase them from the house without getting any valuables." The suspects got into a dark-colored SUV and fled northbound on Xavier Place.
During the burglary, one suspect displayed a screwdriver, but it is uncertain whether he used it as a weapon in his scuffle with the husband, who sustained a minor contusion to his face, Detwiller said. "We do believe it was the tool that was used to enter the house," he added.
The suspect is described as a black male, 5 feet 11, in his mid-20s, and wearing a black do-rag on his head and a bandanna across his face. The second suspect is described as a black male in his mid-20s.
Asked if police suspect that the incident was part of a pattern of residential burglaries throughout Nassau County, Detwiller dismissed any such connection. "There is a pattern of home invasions that is countywide," he said, "but I don't believe that this fits that pattern. To me, this was a spur-of-the-moment type of thing that was not well thought out or well planned. They didn't get anything in this house. They fought and struggled with the occupant. The pattern that we're talking about involves perpetrators who are more or less able to come into a house, surprise the occupants without any physical confrontation, tie them up and ransack the house. In the Oceanside incident, this was not the case."
Detectives ask anyone with information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
