By Alex Ginsberg
An emotionally disturbed Bellerose man held police at bay for nearly 11 hours on June 4 after he allegedly shot up his home, fled and jumped the fence into a neighbor's yard where he threatened to kill himself, police said.
Mario Balducci, 46, surrendered without a struggle at about 10:45 p.m. and was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, police said.
According to a law enforcement source, Balducci was taken to a psychiatric facility, where he is in custody.
Roughly 200 police and paramedics evacuated homes on two streets and closed off a five-square-block area as hostage negotiators worked throughout the day to coax the distraught man out of the yard.
The standoff was the center of attention in the ordinarily quiet residential neighborhood just south of Hillside Avenue. Curious residents thronged behind yellow police tape, catching occasional glimpses of cops in body armor and steel helmets loading and checking their assault rifles.
The daylong drama began at about 11:15 a.m., when Balducci allegedly fired several shots from a .38-caliber handgun inside his house at 85-36 252nd St., police said.
A law enforcement source said that Balducci turned the gun on several television sets as well as two cars parked outside the house. He then ran into the backyard of the neighboring home on 251st Street.
Police acted quickly to evacuate all the homes on 251st and 252nd streets, offering residents a place to rest at PS 133, two blocks away.
The incident summoned Chief of Patrol Nicholas Estavillo, the second-highest ranking officer in the NYPD, to the scene. The 105th Precinct commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Michael Bryan, was also there, clad in a bulletproof vest and helmet.
Michael Brandt, a neighbor, described the five people who lived in the house – Balducci, brothers Dominick and Peter and two parents – as a “typical dysfunctional family.” He said quarrels were frequent in the home.
Brandt also said Balducci was known in the area for the color-coordinated bandannas he and his tiny dog Spike wore as they walked throughout the neighborhood.
“One day it would be red,” Brandt said. “The next day it would be blue.”
Other neighbors said Balducci had been in a serious motorcycle accident years earlier, which may have contributed to his instability.
In the end, despite the massive amount of manpower and firepower arrayed around the yard, police decided it was safer to wait rather than charge in to subdue Balducci.
“He'll get tired eventually,” was the phrase one law enforcement source chose to sum up the police approach. “We'll keep changing platoons. They had the block secure. They had heavy shields and body armor. The best thing to do was to wait him out.”
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
