Arrests made in December home invasion

On January 16, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that five people were arrested in connection with a home invasion that took place in the Wallkill area on December 1.

According to the unsealed DOJ complaint, Bhupinderjit Singh, Elijaih Roman, Corey Hall, Erik Suarez, and Divya Kumari were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit robbery and one count of robbery, which both carry maximum sentences of 20 years. Singh, Roman, Hall, and Suarez were also charged with one count of “using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence,” which has a maximum sentence of life in prison.

None of the alleged perpetrators live locally. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Singh, 26, is from South Ozone Park; Roman, 22, is from Far Rockaway; Hall, 45, is from Saint Albans; Suarez, 24, is from Elmhurst; and Kumari, 26, is from Massapequa.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said, “Bhupinderjit Singh and his co-defendants allegedly planned and executed a violent robbery, during which four children watched as their parents were zip tied and held at gunpoint while four men ransacked their home looking for money and valuables. Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and the career prosecutors of this office, the defendants will now face charges stemming from this brazen robbery.”

The DOJ complaint said that, just before 6 p.m. on December 1, one of the robbery victims arrived at his home on Ross Lane in Wallkill with his 10-year-old daughter and spotted a car that he did not recognize sitting near the house with its headlights on. The suspects then allegedly got out of that car and forced the man and his daughter into the home at gunpoint. When they all entered the home, the homeowner’s wife was inside sitting with the couple’s three other children, who ranged in age from two to nine. The suspects then zip-tied the hands of the couple and sat them all on the couch with their children. Three of the suspects then searched the house while one stayed behind to watch the family, per the unsealed complaint; the fifth suspect was allegedly outside on lookout duty. At one point the victim’s daughter reportedly begged the robbers to not hurt her parents and told them that she would tell them where the family stored their valuables. This led the robbers to a safe in the bedroom, which they made the wife open.

Eventually the suspects left the house with money and jewelry taken from the residence. The complaint said the robbery lasted about 15 minutes.

According to the complaint, one of the suspects had dropped his cell phone at the victim’s home, which has provided additional leads, including the alleged cell phone numbers of the other suspects, photos of the suspects and guns, as well as location data. Using the data collected thus far, investigators tracked the planning and execution of the robbery. The robbers allegedly staked out the place a couple days prior, and the vehicles allegedly involved — two BMWs, black and silver — were also tracked using license plate readers and surveillance video from various locations in the area.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said, “These five defendants participated in a robbery in which a firearm was brandished to gain unauthorized entry into a family’s home and steal valuable jewelry and thousands of dollars. This alleged forceful intrusion violated the privacy and security expected inside one’s home, and terrorized four young children left to helplessly beg for the safety of their restrained parents. The FBI will continue to apprehend any individual who utilizes weapons to intimidate victims to fulfill their criminal agenda.”