NYC woman charged in Lansford home invasion
A New York City woman faces multiple charges after a home invasion in Lansford in March.
Evelyn Ross, 48, of 219 E. 97th St., in East Harlem, was arraigned late last week on charges of robbery, burglary, simple assault, criminal mischief, conspiracy and disorderly conduct and released on $75,000 unsecured bail.
According to court papers, police responded to 218 W. Patterson St. on March 23 just after 3 p.m. for an attempted break-in and possible shooting.
Officers found no shooting or shots fired at the home, where four people, including Ross, went up to the porch and attempted to kick in the front door, court papers said.
Two of the people went around to the back of the home, where they pushed up an unlocked window and entered the home, court papers said.
A resident came downstairs and went to the front door, when he noticed a man inside the home holding a gun. The resident fled the home, fearing for his life.
The resident ran across the street where he was beaten by the man who was inside his home with the gun along with another man armed with a hammer provided to him by Ross, court papers said.
The men struck the resident in the head and eye with the hammer, saying they were going to kill him, court papers said.
The resident escaped and flagged down a vehicle, which dropped him at the Lansford police station. He was taken to St. Luke’s Miners Campus. The man suffered a broken foot, bruises and abrasions to multiple areas of his body and damage to his left eye, where he was struck with the hammer, court papers said.
Ross entered the home and began to destroy property inside, and Ross and the other people she came to the home with assaulted several other people inside the home, where there were children as young as three months old, court papers said.
An investigation revealed that Ross brought the people involved in the assaults to the home, and the man who was beaten received threats via text from unknown phone numbers.
Video surveillance shows Ross and the others attempting to break into the home, the resident being assaulted and a person carrying out a flat screen television. The television was placed in Ross’s vehicle, which they all had arrived in, court papers said.
Also taken was a black Mackage jacket valued at $1,000.
Surveillance footage also shows Ross inside the home, breaking the camera with a hammer and stating, “You all wanted to fight, right?”
Police documented the damage inside the home, which included a cut rear window screen, valued at $100; shoe markings on the front door; front window screen pulled out and bent, $100; video doorbell camera disconnected and stolen, $100; glass table smashed, $500; big screen television smashed, $500; living room table smashed, $500; hole in drywall where person was thrown into wall, $1,000; broken stair railings that person was thrown against, $200.
The resident identified Ross as the person committing these crimes, court papers said.
Lansford police Chief Kyle Woodward said this week that police are still looking to identify the remaining people involved in the break-in and assault.