Brothers Sentenced To Prison For Armed Burglary In Brentwood: DA

BRENTWOOD, NY - Two brothers from Philadelphia were both sentenced to over 20 years in prison on Wednesday for the armed burglary of a Brentwood home last year, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini.

Luis Rivera-Colon, 33, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision while his brother, 28-year-old Jose Rivera-Colon was sentenced to 23 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision, the DA said.

Both were convicted by a jury of three counts of first degree burglary and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child in May, the DA said.

They were sentenced today by Suffolk County Court Justice Timothy Mazzei.

A third man, 38-year-old Rafaelito Rodriguez, also of Philadelphia, was convicted by a jury in January of three counts of first degree burglary, first degree criminal use of a firearm, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and second degree criminal possession of a weapon, the DA said.

Rodriguez was sentenced to 25 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision by Judge Mazzei in March.

In May 2017, the three men, who were wearing masks, approached a resident of the downstairs apartment of the Brentwood home as he was exiting his car, the DA said.

Rodriguez, who was armed with a loaded semiautomatic pistol, and the Rivera-Colons, armed with knives, demanded that he let them into the house, the DA said.

The resident knocked on the front door and a 16-year-old resident of the home opened it, allowing the trio to enter the house, the DA said.

The men then forced the two victims and four additional residents of the home, two of whom were under the age of 14, to sit at the dining room table, according to the DA.

They used duct tape to restrain the hands of two of the victims and cover one’s mouth, Sini said.

One of the men in the home was forced at gunpoint to open a safe in the house.

The trio took a total of $20,000 cash from the safe as well as an ornate collectible knife and sheath, jewelry and a purse, the DA said.

During the course of the burglary, the 16-year-old asked for a glass of water, which she smashed to the ground in an attempt to alert the downstairs neighbors. Another woman also yelled “Let them take everything” to alert the neighbors.

A resident of the downstairs apartment heard the noises and called 911.

Officers from the Third Precinct responded and apprehended the Rivera-Colons and Rodriguez inside the home, according to the DA.

The three were arrested and all of the stolen property was recovered.

"It was certainly not a case of ‘brotherly love’ when these defendants from Philadelphia committed an armed home invasion and threatened the lives of not one, but two families in Suffolk County," Sini said. "Thankfully, due to the care and concern of the victims’ neighbors and the rapid response of the Suffolk County Police Department, the victims were not injured and the defendants were caught red-handed."

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