Authorities report that a bold intruder pretended to be a Con Edison worker and broke into a Brooklyn residence, where he assaulted a woman by grabbing her neck and struck her husband with a gun. Thankfully, the husband managed to fight off the assailant.
The suspect, 56-year-old Gregory Jones, allegedly forced entry into the home on East 57th Street near Linden Boulevard in East Flatbush around 2:40 p.m. on Monday, according to police.
Jones was dressed in clothing that resembled the energy company’s uniform. He reportedly seized the woman by the neck while her child was also present in the house.
Fortunately, her husband was nearby, connected to the Ring doorbell, and heard the commotion. He rushed to the house, which is thankfully what saved the day.
During the encounter, Jones attacked the husband with the firearm, but the husband managed to disarm him and knock him out, according to reports.
When Jones regained consciousness, he fled the scene with several valuables, including a cellphone. It’s worth mentioning that local volunteers from Crown Heights Shomrim were able to track him down using that cellphone.
Jones was taken into custody several hours later and is facing multiple charges linked to the robbery. These include robbery, strangulation, burglary, grand larceny, as well as criminal use and possession of a firearm, coercion, false imprisonment, child endangerment, and menacing, as stated by police.
Interestingly, law enforcement noted that Jones has an extensive arrest record dating back to August 1993, including previous charges of murder in the NYPD’s 77th Precinct area, which covers parts of Crown Heights and Prospect Heights. The outcome of that case is unclear.
Most recently, he was arrested in May for two separate robberies. In one incident, he allegedly used a gun to rob a 53-year-old man of $400 in a Brooklyn discount store. In another event, starting on May 4, he was accused of robbing a 54-year-old man of a cellphone, $300, glasses, and a passport, again in Brooklyn.
He faced charges for the May 4 incident but managed to post bail on June 2, according to online records.
As of now, his arraignment related to the violent home invasion is still forthcoming.
