By Rebecca Henely
A Woodside man will be spending four years in jail as the result of a burglary spree and flight from the police last summer that ended in multiple car crashes and four people — including three officers — injured, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
William Agosto, 45, who lives at 69th Street and 31st Avenue, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary and assault last month in connection with the crimes and was sentenced by Queens Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho Nov. 28, the DA said. His partner-in-crime, 43-year-old wife Lydia Cordero-Bueno of Middletown, N.Y., admitted last month to criminal possession of stolen property and got a sentence right away of a conditional discharge, the DA said.
In addition to four years behind bars, Agosto will also be under post-release supervision for three years, the DA said.
“The sentence imposed today by the court is a just resolution of the matter and demonstrates my office’s continued commitment to prosecuting and punishing those involved in burglarizing the homes of Queens County residents,” District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. “The sentence should also serve as a warning that anyone who physically injures an individual while fleeing from their crime will be punished accordingly.”
Members of the NYPD’s Burglary Larceny Apprehension and Surveillance Team, whose officers work undercover and in plainclothes to follow burglary patterns, had been trailing Agosto and Cordero-Buneo Aug. 31, the DA said.
On that day the team saw the two of them driving a white van to a home on 54th Avenue in Elmhurst, the DA said. When they arrived, Agosto scaled the house’s side fence and went into the back of the house while Cordero-Bueno acted as lookout from the van, the DA said. Agosto came back soon after with five bags, which he threw over the fence, the DA said.
The team chased the van, which got stuck in traffic at Corona Avenue and 91st Place in Elmhurst, the DA said. The two of them tried to get away, crashing into three other vehicles — a 2008 Nissan and two 2010 Dodges — in the process, the DA said. The van kept moving, eventually reaching Queens Boulevard and Ireland Street, but hit an unmarked police vehicle belonging to the burglary team, which was pushed into a Mercedes-Benz, causing injuries to both the two officers in the van and the Mercedes-Benz driver, the DA said.
After the crash, another officer, Jason Petri, tried to take Agosto out of the van and a fight began in which Petri was cut in the leg and one of his fingers was dislocated, the DA said. Agosto and Cordero-Bueno were arrested after and Petri was brought to a local hospital for treatment, the DA said.
Police found $15,000 in watches, jewelry, camera equipment and electronics, which was taken not only from the 54th Street house but also a house on 64th Street in Woodside and another property on Juniper Boulevard in Middle Village, the DA said.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
