By Kelsey Durham
Police arrested one of two suspects last week wanted in connection with a home invasion in Bay Terrace earlier this year that injured an elderly couple, the NYPD said.
Corona resident Christopher Ramirez, 24, was arrested June 25 for his role in the April 23 break-in at a first-floor condo on 15th Avenue, authorities said.
Ramirez is one of two men who allegedly posed as repairmen and forced their way into the home before assaulting the homeowners, an 86-year-old man and his 85-year-old wife, and stealing a substantial amount of jewelry and cash, cops said.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Queens district attorney, Ramirez and his accomplice, whom police have not yet identified, rang the doorbell at the home around 2:30 p.m. holding clipboards and falsely identified themselves as maintenance workers.
After the woman unlocked the door, the two men allegedly forced their way into the home and the unknown suspect began punching the woman, knocking her to the ground before she lost consciousness, the complaint said.
The document alleges that Ramirez ran to a bedroom on the second floor of the home, where the 86-year-old man was asleep, and dragged the husband to the floor and began punching him. The victim told police that Ramirez then tied his hands behind his back with a plastic tie and covered his mouth and ears with tape before using pepper spray on the man’s eyes, the complaint said.
The NYPD said the man suffered injuries to his head and his wife sustained bruises to her face and body. Both victims were treated at New York Hospital Queens and later released, police said.
The complaint against Ramirez said the couple noticed after the assault that their home had been ransacked and a safe containing various gold and diamond jewelry and about $15,000 in cash was missing from a second-floor bedroom.
Police later identified Ramirez as a suspect after lifting a fingerprint from a roll of tape found on the floor of the bedroom, the court document said. He was arrested and charged with robbery, burglary and assault, according to the complaint.
The NYPD said it was still pursuing the identity of the second man involved in the incident.
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
