Cops: Home invasion likely an isolated case

A Tuesday night burglary in the Village of Kings Point does not appear to be linked to a series of home invasions that occurred in late 2010 and January 2011, Nassau police said Wednesday.

Just after 7 p.m. Tuesday, an 82-year-old man was awakened when someone tried to open his locked bedroom door, and when the Rogers Road resident opened the door he saw a man dressed in black rooting through a desk. The suspect fled when the man asked him what he was doing.

Sixth Precinct Commanding Officer Harun Begis said the case had few similarities to the Kings Point and Great Neck home invasions. "We don't believe it's related in any way to the incidents we had take place about a year ago," Begis told reporters. "Those incidents were confrontational in nature."

In the Rogers Road case, five watches were stolen, the intruder fled once discovered and the location was not surrounding Kings Point Park.

In the home invasions, the suspect had voyeuristic encounters with women or children, didn't steal items and struck near the park, which police theorized he used to evade capture.

Nassau police are seeking witnesses and have enlisted the help of the village police department, which operates three cameras and license-plate scanners to track the comings and goings of cars. The village downloaded a disc of those images for Nassau police, Kings Point Lt. George Banville said.

The home invasions between November 2010 and January 2011 in Kings Point and Great Neck rattled residents. Police set traps in the park, used police dogs and called in air surveillance in search of the man, who told one victim his name was Marvin.

In one case, the suspect held a wet rag to a teenager's face. Police later discovered that DNA left behind at that incident was linked to a hammer attack in Hempstead and a sexual assault in Texas.

"We've not put it to bed," Begis said. "We go over the details constantly."