by Cris Italia
Four men allegedly followed 47 year-old Anthony Battaglia home when he was shot and stabbed. The description of the two men was a result of interviews conducted with robbery victims which have been connected to the murder. Police believe robberies in Oceanside, Rockville Centre and Long Beach were committed in similar fashion.
The first suspect is described as a male white, possibly Hispanic, 19 to 23 years of age. He stands between 5-7 to 5-9 tall. He has a round faced, dark eyes, light complexion, short black hair, possibly a thin mustache and armed with a handgun. He was wearing a white sun visor (backwards on head), light colored short sleeve shirt and dark pants.
The second suspect, is a male, possibly Hispanic, 16 to 19 years old. He stands at about 5-10 to 6-1, with a narrow face, very thin build, medium complexion and possibly has mustache and goatee. He was seen wearing a light blue basketball type jersey with dark blue vertical stripes running from the shoulder to the waist. He was armed with an unknown type of object that he used to strike some of the victims in the head.
Police say that these two suspects along with two others fled the scenes of the attacks in a four door, light colored Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), possibly a Nissan X-Terra.
There is now a $25,000 reward for information leading to the killers' arrest. Police are asking that anyone who recognizes the two men in the sketches to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All calls are kept confidential.
