A band of thieves has been caught and hit with robbery and burglary charges for at least two terrifying home robberies in Nassau County.
Police charged 18-year-old Irving Brenor, 20-year-old Jayson Jaya and 19-year-old Giam Cardenas, all of Queens, and a fourth suspect — a 17-year-old who was charged as a juvenile for their roles in these robberies. Each of them pleaded not guilty.
The first one happened on September 25, 2025 in Manhasset. Around 2:54 p.m., Brenor and Jaya are accused of forcibly entering a home, knocking over a female victim as they opened the door and knocking her to the ground. The defendants are accused of displaying a machete and threatening the male and female victims with the dangerous weapon, stealing $6,800 cash and a purse valued at $3,000, as well as credit cards and documents.
Then, on October 2, 2025, the defendants are accused of forcibly entering a home in Jericho around 3:01 p.m., also in broad daylight. Inside the home were a 13-year-old girl and her 9-year-old sister. The father of the girls had just left to get something from the store when he got an alert through his security system that there was an intruder in his home.
“I was angry, but I tried to stay calm,” he told NBC New York. “I got in the car, came back home as fast as I could.”
Security cameras showed how quickly the foursome reached the second floor, where the girls had locked themselves in their rooms.
“They did how I trained them,” the father, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect his family, said. “So they had their rooms locked, but the intruder kicked one of my daughters’ doors open.”
Inside, the 13-year-old screamed and fought back, stopping them from taking her phone while she tried to call her dad.
But according to court papers, they grabbed the girl’s arm and forcibly removed her cellphone from her hand and stole three watches from the other bedroom worth in excess of $23,000.
“I was burning in vengeance for a week. I prayed a lot,” he said. “I’m grateful the girls were not hurt, but I’m staying hyper alert for what’s going on in the neighborhood.”
Since this happened, more neighbors have shared stories with this family of cars that were broken into and other criminal incidents. They have started a neighborhood watch and vowed to stay alert to protect one another.
“I feel much relief and I’m grateful to the detectives that they are working hard on this case,” said the dad. “I’m grateful the girls are not harmed. And hopefully other people who are in similar situations will not be harmed as well.”
