By Andrew Hackmack and Anthony Bottan
The suspect, Augustine Castillo, was extradited to the U.S. from Spain on Aug. 16 and arraigned the following day in First District Court.
Castillo, 43, formerly of Brooklyn, was arrested in Segovia, Spain, on March 7 by Spanish officials working in cooperation with U.S. Marshals, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office and the Nassau County Police Department's 5th Squad, police said.
The robbery occurred on the morning of April 2, 2003. According to police, a 32-year-old Valley Stream woman was returning home after dropping off her children at school when she was confronted in her garage by two men. They asked for her husband by name, although Nassau County Police Detective Sgt. Robert Galgano said he does not believe the men knew her husband. "That was just a ruse to actually get closer to her," Galgano said.
The robbery appeared to have been well-planned, Galgano explained. The men grabbed the woman by the mouth and neck, took her keys and forced her inside the house and into the basement, where they bound her hands with her shoelaces. The men then ransacked the home for about an hour, and tried to open a safe they found in the basement, according to Galgano.
"They believed there was going to be a large amount of money in the house," he said.
The 300-pound safe was cemented into the basement floor. Unable to open it, the men chiseled it out, loaded it into the victim's Chevrolet Blazer and took off. The vehicle was located several hours later in Queens. Police would not comment on whether the safe was recovered.
The first arrest in the case was made nearly three months later. Roberto Ortiz, then 31, of Ridgewood, Queens, was charged on June 25, 2003, with second-degree burglary, second-degree robbery and third-degree grand larceny.
On April 15, 2004, police nabbed Roger Lebron, then 39. The Brooklyn resident was charged with second-degree robbery, second-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny. Both Lebron and Ortiz are now in prison.
Galgano said the investigation is continuing, as police believe that a fourth suspect is still at large.
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