North Bellmore Man Convicted of Burglarizing Ex-Cop’s Home

Police K-9 unit tracked Williams to neighbor’s backyard

MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Teon Williams has been convicted by a judge of breaking into the Bellmore home of an ex-NYPD officer last October.

Nassau County Judge David Ayres found Williams, 22, of North Bellmore, guilty of Burglary in the Second Degree. He faces up to 15 years in prison at his September 18 sentencing.

Rice said that at about 7 a.m. on Sunday, October 5, 2008, a Bellmore couple entered their kitchen to find a window open and their dog barking at the door of the home’s attached garage. The husband, an ex-NYPD officer, retrieved his handgun and entered the garage to investigate. Though Williams was hiding in the garage, the ex-cop did not see him and entered a basement beneath the garage to continue the search.

Williams then fled back through the house, passing by the homeowner’s 10-year-old daughter on his way to the front door. The homeowner heard his daughter scream and chased Williams out the front door and into the street before calling 911. Police responded with a K-9 unit, including a German Shepherd named “Thunder,” who eventually located Williams five houses down hiding in a backyard. Police officers arrested him without incident.

“Mr. Williams picked the wrong home to burglarize,” Rice said. “I want to applaud the quick work of the Nassau County Police Department for its speedy response, and the K-9 unit involved for a textbook apprehension of this defendant. This is every homeowner’s worst nightmare and we’re proud to have done our part to put this defendant behind bars.”

Handling the case for the DA’s office is Assistant District Attorney Michael Reiner of the DA’s County Court Trial Bureau. The defendant is represented by Michael Warren, Esq.