By Mark Hallum
A Brooklyn man pleaded guilty May 30 to first-degree robbery in a 2014 Bayside home invasion in which two elderly victims were terrorized, the Queens district attorney said. He identified the defendant as 41-year-old Vincente Barzola.
Sentencing was set for June 20, and Brown said Barzola will get 12 years behind bars.
“The victims in this case – both octogenarians – weren’t just robbed of their precious possessions,” Brown said. “The defendant also stole their sense of security that they were safe in their own home. The defendant has now pleaded guilty and will be sentenced to a lengthy term of incarceration.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter also indicated Barzola is expected to serve up to 12 years in prison at his sentencing and will have an extra two years under supervision.
In April 2014, Barzola and one other individual who was apprehended rang the doorbell at the residence in Bayside, according to Brown. The 83-year-old wife answered the door and was told by Barzola they were part of the maintenance crew for the apartment building and needed the woman’s signature. When she unlocked the door, the two men forced their way into the unit.
The DA said Barzola and his accomplice ransacked the home and stole a safe with over $15,000 in cash along with gold and diamond jewelry.
Barzola bound the woman’s hands with plastic ties before visiting her 87-year-old husband, sleeping in the other room, where he was also bound and pepper-sprayed in the face.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
