North Bellmore, NY - December 12th, 2013 - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced that the final defendant in a violent 2011 home invasion in North Bellmore received the maximum sentence today, to over a quarter century in prison.
Brooklyn man Gustavo Arroyo, 35, was sentenced to 25 years in upstate prison by Judge Alan L. Honorof today. In September Arroyo was convicted by a jury of four counts of Robbery in the First Degree, four counts of Robbery in the Second Degree, four counts of Burglary in the First Degree, Burglary in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, three counts of Unlawful imprisonment, one count of Attempted Unlawful Imprisonment, two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Resisting Arrest, and Escape.
“This is the final sentence in the case of a terrifying home invasion that’s every homeowner’s nightmare,” DA Rice said. “Mr. Arroyo will spend the maximum time allowed by the law incarcerated for his violent acts thanks to the excellent work of members of the Nassau County Police Department and my office. We will continue to be vigilant against this type of violent crime that’s an outright assault on the promises of peaceful living in Nassau County.”
Rice said that at approximately 8:30 a.m. on September 19, 2011, Arroyo and two other men, Eduardo Cruz and Carlos Segura, exited a vehicle being driven by Dario Guerrero and approached a North Bellmore home. Cruz entered the home through the unlocked front door and began beating a female resident before signaling to Arroyo and Segura to come inside. Segura, armed with a gun, and Cruz and Arroyo, both armed with knives, tied up three residents of the home and began to search for money. A fourth resident who lived in the home’s basement was also tied up before having his cell phone and $350 stolen from him.
During the course of the robbery a male resident of the home, who had been out during the robbery, returned home. When he attempted to open the front door, Arroyo grabbed him and tried to pull him inside. The male resident broke free of Arroyo and ran from the house into the street screaming for help. The three defendants fled the house and got into the waiting car being driven by Guerrero and were spotted by responding Nassau County Police Department officers driving eastbound on Merrick Road into Merrick.
Upon stopping the vehicle, an NCPD officer ordered all four men out of the car and then attempted to arrest Cruz, who resisted and refused to be handcuffed. Segura and Guerrero jumped back into their car and drove straight at the officer. The officer fired at the vehicle, striking Guerrero in the left leg. Arroyo fled on foot but was arrested a short time later, as was Cruz. Guerrero was arrested after a traffic stop on Sunrise Highway in Wantagh. Segura was arrested in a cab heading back to Brooklyn after a traffic stop on the Southern State Parkway.
Cruz was sentenced to 25 years in prison, Segura was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and Guerrero was sentenced to 1-1/4 to 4 years in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Melissa Lewis of the Major Offense Bureau is prosecuting the case for the DA Rice's office. Arroyo is represented by Martin Goldberg, Esq.