A man posing as a Con Edison worker stormed into a Brooklyn home on Monday afternoon, assaulting a woman and pistol-whipping her husband when he intervened, according to the NYPD. The incident occurred around 2:40 p.m. on East 57th Street in East Flatbush.
The suspect, identified as 56-year-old Gregory Jones, allegedly forced his way into the residence while a child was present. He is accused of grabbing a woman by the neck before her husband, alerted by screams and a Ring doorbell notification, confronted the intruder. The husband reportedly fought Jones, disarming him and rendering him unconscious.
Upon regaining consciousness, Jones fled the scene with stolen items, including a cell phone. Volunteers from Crown Heights Shomrim were able to track the phone, leading to Jones' arrest a few hours later. He faces multiple charges, including robbery, strangulation, burglary, grand larceny, criminal use of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, coercion, unlawful imprisonment, acting in a manner injurious to a child, and menacing.
Jones has a prior arrest history dating back to 1993 for a murder charge, though the disposition of that case is unknown. More recently, he was arrested in May for two separate robberies. In one incident on April 16, he is accused of a gunpoint robbery at a discount store that left a 53-year-old man with minor injuries. In another incident on May 4, he allegedly stole a cell phone, cash, eyeglasses, and a passport from a 54-year-old man. He was indicted for the May 4 incident but posted bail on June 2.
Jones' arraignment for the Brooklyn home invasion is pending.