By JOSEPH KELLARD
Efren Russell, 43, who was already in the Nassau County jail in connection with a home invasion in Manhasset last November, was charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree attempted robbery for breaking into a Xavier Place home with an accomplice. The pair climbed through an open window and got into a scuffle with a man inside the home last Aug. 25, according to police.
Russell¹s alleged accomplice, Ernest Colon, 44, of Brooklyn, was arrested and charged for the same crimes in both Oceanside and Manhasset in November. At the time, Russell was arrested and charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery only in connection with a Manhasset home invasion on Sept. 20.
Police said that both men have been convicted before on similar charges of burglary and robbery.
According to 4th Precinct detectives, Russell and Colon entered the Oceanside home through a window at about 2:45 a.m., waking up a 44-year-old woman and demanding cash. One suspect went to the den, where the woman¹s 43-year-old husband was sleeping. The suspect punched him in the head and demanded cash. ³In defending his family, [the husband] got into a scuffle with this suspect, and the other suspect joined him,² said Detective Greg Detwiller. ³But the husband was able to fight him off and chase them from the house....² The suspects stole cash, however, before fleeing in a dark-colored SUV, police said.
The arrests are the result of a joint task force formed by Nassau and Suffolk counties and New York City police in response to a series of more than 40 burglaries of homes in both counties as well as Queens and Brooklyn since December 2004. Detective Lt. John Giambrone of the Nassau County Robbery Squad said Russell and Colon are two of three men police have arrested in regard to a certain pattern of these home invasions.
³All these home invasions are all still under investigation,² Giambrone said. ³We¹re going through each case, step by step, reinterviewing everyone and going over the physical evidence and statements to connect the dots. And we were able to connect Mr. Russell to this Oceanside incident.. ³
