Man charged in Uniondale home invasion arraigned, police say
Gregory Davidson, 43, of Uniondale, will be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Monday. Credit: NCPD
A Uniondale man remained jailed Monday night on $500,000 bond following his arrest Sunday after police said he broke into a neighborhood home, held a 9-year-old boy at knifepoint and demanded sex from the child's aunt.
Nassau County police said a department sergeant caught up to suspect, Gregory Davidson, 43, of Liberty Street, following a short foot chase ending his one-man crime spree about 7 a.m. Sunday morning.
Davidson had previously attacked a 64-year-old woman on New Street in Uniondale during an unsuccessful attempt to steal her pocketbook then tried to break into another house, before being scared off by a triggered alarm, police said.
He's been charged with third-degree attempted robbery, second-degree attempted burglary and endangering the welfare of a child, among other charges.
Court records show Davidson was arraigned Monday in First District Court in Hempstead and his bail was set at $500,000 cash or bond. He did not post bail, records show.
A temporary order of protection was also issued against Davidson, records said. His lawyer could not be reached for comment Monday. Davidson's next court appearance is slated for Wednesday.
The crimes occurred within about a half-hour period Sunday morning along New Street and Southern Parkway in Uniondale, police said.
Nassau Police investigate the scene of a break-in on Southern Parkway in Uniondale Sunday. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Police said that around 6:20 a.m. Davidson approached a 64-year-old woman on New Street, attempting to steal her pocketbook and then kicking her to the ground before fleeing on foot. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of a shoulder injury, police said.
About 20 minutes later, police said, Davidson attempted to enter a home on Southern Parkway through a rear window, but set off an alarm — and ran off, police said.
Davidson then illegally entered a second home on Southern Parkway 10 minutes later, gaining entrance through an unlocked kitchen door, grabbing the 9-year-old boy and holding a knife to the child's neck, police said.
Holding the child, police said Davidson proceeded to the basement, where he confronted the boy's 43-year-old aunt, "demanding" sex from her — only to be scared off when the woman's husband woke, confronting him.
"He encountered a young man and his aunt," Nassau police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said. "A third party in the house woke up and scared the subject off."
Responding First Precinct officers then tracked Davidson to the backyard of a nearby home, where Ryder said he was arrested following the foot chase.
One local resident, Shonta Turner, 52, an accounting assistant who's lived in the neighborhood since she was 14, said she was leaving at 7 a.m. to go shopping and then to church when she saw all the police cars and commotion.
“It’s very disturbing,” she said. “I’m concerned. I have a grandson."
With David M. Schwartz
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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