Baldwin home robbed 2 times in 2 years

For the second time in two years, Martha Beltre said, her family was the victim of a robbery at her Baldwin home.

"They must think we have money, but we don't," Beltre said. "I'm just glad nobody got hurt."

Most of the family had left the home on Everett Court by 8 a.m. Thursday, Beltre said. Only a health care aide and Beltre's 89-year-old grandmother were in the house then when four men, one armed with a handgun, came through the front door.

Beltre said the aide later told her, " 'One of them had a gun. They said not to move.' " The aide was bound tightly with electrical chord to a chair, and the men went through the house taking cash and jewelry.

Beltre said her grandmother, who has Alzheimer's disease, was in a bed on the first floor, but the men left her alone.

Before they left, the aide complained to them that her wrists were turning blue and they cut her free, Beltre said.

The aide, 51, was so shaken that she just sat in a living room chair crying, unable to call for help, Beltre said.

Beltre's mother arrived home about noon, and the aide crossed her arms at the wrist, symbolizing that she was tied up, and Beltre's mother knew exactly what had happened.

In 2009, robbers broke into the same home when most of the family was present, Beltre said.

This time, the crooks got away with jewelry and cash, Beltre said. The family, which operates a Baldwin deli, does not keep much cash at home, she said.

Nassau detectives said anyone with information on the case could call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS.