By Anthony Rifilato
Police said the victim, who lives on Washington Place in Baldwin Harbor, was expecting a relative when he heard a knock on his door at around 11:20 p.m. on Oct. 10. Instead, police said, the man opened the door to find two strangers, who forced him inside at gunpoint. One of the suspects struck the victim in the head and face, causing him to fall to the ground, according to police.
At a press conference last week, Detective Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police Department said the men hit the victim about the head and then kicked and beat him, demanding money and jewelry, as he lay on the floor.
The victim, whose name was not released by police, was forced to crawl from room to room and turn over his valuables, according to Smith. "Any time he'd inadvertently look up at them, they'd begin to kick him," Smith said.
The suspects eventually forced the victim, a downstairs tenant in the home, onto a back porch, where he managed to escape by jumping over a fence after the men re-entered the home. "At one point, they turned their backs on him," Smith explained. "The man escaped, went to a neighbor's house and called police. He was hurt bad enough that he had to be taken to an area hospital."
Police said the men fled the scene with some valuables, while the victim sustained cuts, bruises and chipped teeth and was brought to South Nassau Communities Hospital.
First Precinct police and canine units responded to the home, Smith said, and the incident rocked a normally quiet section of Baldwin Harbor, which is tucked away on a dead-end street. "There were police cars parked in front of our house," said one resident who asked that her name not be used. "We heard about it that night. It worries you."
Another neighbor, who also declined to be identified, said many residents believe the man may have been targeted because of the location. "He was on a dead-end street, with really no easy way out of there," the neighbor said, adding that some residents have been on edge since the incident. He said that his wife now double-checks that the doors in their home are locked, but with two large dogs, he said, he isn't that worried.
County police said that the number of these types of robberies has dropped in recent years, thanks in part to the arrests several years ago of a group of men who were responsible for a string of home invasions in the county.
First Precinct Inspector Rick Capece said that police have stepped up patrols in the area as a result of the latest incident, adding that home invasions usually fall into two categories: random or targeted acts. "We haven't had a repeat incident," Capece said. "It's being investigated. We take all burglaries seriously, and home invasions very seriously. We've stepped up patrols in the Baldwin area, looking for suspicious people in cars. It's our experience that in most home invasions, it's usually someone who is not from the area. They have to have a means of transportation."
Smith said it was unclear whether the suspects fled in a car. He added that police do not believe the victim knew his attackers, and that it was too early to determine whether he was targeted - though other officials believe that was the case. "He did not report that he knew his assailants," Smith said.
He added that the victim had rented the downstairs apartment in the home for several months, and worked with computers. A police source said that police have responded to calls at the house before for illegal activity, but would not elaborate. "This one was kind of troubling," the source said. "The whole thing just doesn't seem right."
At press time on Monday, police were still searching for the two men. One was described as black, 6 feet tall and 190 pounds, and armed with a handgun. Police said the second suspect was also black, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 180 pounds, with lighter skin, and wore a do-rag and socks on his hands. Smith said he might have worn the socks to avoid leaving fingerprints.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
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