Riverhead, NY - November 20, 2018 - Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini today announced the sentencing of a fifth co-defendant in connection with the armed robbery of an occupied Farmingville home in 2016.
“Thanks to the hard work of ADAs Ferron Lien and Kimberly Shalvey, another dangerous individual has been taken off the streets of Suffolk County,” DA Sini said. “This alleged gang member is being held accountable for his role in a violent armed robbery that victimized an entire family. Today, justice has been served. Let this sentence serve as a message to other gang members: we’re coming for you. If you commit violent acts in our communities, you are going to prison for a very, very long time.”
Luis Garcia, 36, of Commack, was sentenced to 25 years in prison plus 5 years post-release supervision by Judge Timothy Mazzei for his role in an armed robbery in Farmingville in 2016. Garcia was convicted in September of Burglary in the First Degree, a B felony, and Robbery in the First Degree, a B felony.
On August 4, 2016, Garcia and four co-defendants, armed with at least one firearm, forcibly entered a residence located on Chestnut Avenue in Farmingville. The co-defendants are Jason Montello, 40, of Bay Shore; Paul Torres, 45, of Middle Island; Anthony Capuano, 41, of Selden; and Ray Pena, 24, of Port Jefferson Station.
The defendants mistakenly targeted the residence believing it to be the home of a drug dealer.
A woman who was present in the residence entered the kitchen after hearing a noise and was confronted by two of the defendants, who proceeded to drag her down the hallway of the home by her hair to the master bedroom. The defendants then demanded drugs and money from the victim and threatened to kill her family and their two dogs.
The defendants stole a number of items from the home, including jewelry, purses and electronics.
Garcia was located and arrested by the Suffolk County Police Department within an hour after the incident.
Montello and Torres were convicted by a jury on November 17, 2017, of two counts of Burglary in the First Degree; three counts of Burglary in the Second Degree; two counts of Robbery in the First Degree; and two counts of Robbery in the Second Degree. Montello was sentenced on April 16, 2018, to 25 years to life in prison. Torres was sentenced on April 10, 2018, to 24 years to life in prison.
Capuano pleaded guilty on July 14, 2017, to 35 criminal charges in connection with the Farmingville home invasion, a second unrelated home invasion, and an unrelated robbery. He was sentenced on January 24, 2018, to 14 years in prison.
Pena pleaded guilty on May 8, 2018, to two counts of Burglary in the First Degree; three counts of Burglary in the Second Degree; two counts of Robbery in the First Degree; two counts of Robbery in the Second Degree; and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree. He will be sentenced at a later date.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Ferron Lien and Kimberly Shalvey, of the Major Crime Bureau.