By Jason Scheer
According to police, at 11 p.m. on Aug. 30, three men, all wearing hooded sweatshirts and bandannas across their faces, carrying baseball bats and a screwdriver, entered the residence. They were looking to steal money and marijuana from the home, police said.
However, shortly after they entered, the men got into a struggle with the 18-year-old son of the homeowner. During the struggle, one of the suspects, Shawn Flowers, 23, was stabbed.
Shortly afterward, police responded to a call about an injury at Flowers's Bradley Avenue home. He was transported to Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, where he was pronounced dead by hospital staff.
The following day, five other individuals, all from the local area, were arrested in connection with the crime and charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery. They are Carlos Deleon, 17, of Baldwin; Christopher Adams, 21, of Lakeview; Elvis Lindo, 17, of West Hempstead; Jennifer Colon, 21, of Valley Stream, and Lakia Flowers, 16, of West Hempstead. Lakia Flowers is Shawn Flowers's younger sister.
A Nassau County Police Department representative said it was not clear which two of the male defendants were inside the house with Flowers, but that the remaining three waited outside in a van. In addition, the representative said, "It's not clear if they knew him, but they knew what was in the house," referring to marijuana.
No charges have been filed against the homeowner's 18-year-old son. The five defendants were arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Sept. 1.
Calls placed to the Flowers residence were not returned. No one answered the door at the Madison Avenue home.
The incident was the second in the span of a week in which a local resident fought off a group of potential robbers. On Aug. 25, an Oceanside man was injured when he fought with burglars who broke into his home before dawn and chased them away empty-handed.
Nassau County, according to the NCPD representative, has no established policy regarding what people should do during a home robbery.
Comments about this story? JScheer@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
