By The Diary
22 Aug 2024, 01:11 AM EDT
Three masked men armed with a gun and hammers broke into a house in Queens (NYC) in the dead of night, terrorizing a family and sparking a dramatic police chase that included the use of drones.
Brandon Dash (39), Ryan Dash (34) and Jone Smith (47) -who is also named Conrad Harrigan- were arrested and charged with a number of charges, including kidnapping, assault, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted, they face a maximum of 25 years in prison.
According to police, around 2:15 a.m. Saturday, three men forced their way into the single-family home located just a block from Grand Central Parkway at Marathon Parkway and Cullman Ave. in Little Neck, sending the family inside, including three children and two elderly people, into a panic.
Three men who robbed a Queens home — terrorizing the family inside before leading police on a wild chase that ended in their arrest — were hit with a slew of charges. https://t.co/yu0343xdWO
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 20, 2024
In the home were two adult women aged 44 and 71, two men aged 43 and 72, a minor aged 13 and two girls aged 10 and 1. After entering the house, the trio of thieves woke the owners up at gunpoint and demanded money from them.
One of the kidnappers was brandishing a gun and the other two carried hammers, according to court documents. All three wore masks and physically restrained the family, but the adult woman was able to escape carrying the baby and called police.
The older woman was hit in the face and the younger man in the foot with a hammer. The offenders then left the house with more than $10,000 and tried to flee, but were eventually caught and arrested after a lengthy chase.
Responding officers used drones and surrounded the home. Using night vision, the drones recorded the three suspects as they climbed out of the kitchen window and began to flee, according to the NYPD.
“The police chased them and ran through the yard. They caught one of the guys at the side of my house,” neighbor Richard Leung told the Daily News.
“As alleged, these three defendants held a family, including children, hostage while displaying a handgun and two hammers,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said at the arraignment Sunday. “These victims displayed incredible courage during a home invasion in which a mother escaped with her minor daughter and called 911. These defendants not only threatened the family, but also destroyed the family’s sense of safety in their own home.”
It is unclear whether it was a robbery of opportunity or the thieves knew there was money in the house. All three suspects have been remanded in custody and are due back in court on August 22. All charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
In a similar case, in February three armed robbers ambushed a man outside his Queens home in the early morning and followed him inside, where they stole money and jewelry totaling more than $30,000.
In December, a mother and her 5-year-old daughter were injured when they were beaten by burglars who invaded their home in Staten Island (NYC) in the early hours of the morning.
In September 2023, a Siena College poll identified crime (73%) as one of New Yorkers’ top concerns. According to another alarming survey, 70% of NYC residents fear they will be victims of a crime.