Man Who Terrorized Elderly Couple In Bayside Home Invasion Pleads Guilty, DA Says

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A man who forced his way into the Queens home of a couple in their 80s, tied them up and robbed them, pleaded guilty Monday, the borough's District Attorney Richard Brown said.

Vincent Barzola, 41, and his accomplice Christopher Ramirez, 27, rang the woman's doorbell and claimed to be part of the building's maintenance crew on April 23, 2014, Brown said. When the woman, 85, unlocked the door, the two stormed in without her permission, according the the DA.

The two bound the elderly woman with plastic ties and proceeded to ransack the home, stealing a safe containing more than $15,000 worth of cash, gold and diamonds, according to court records. The woman's 87-year-old husband, who was asleep in an upstairs bedroom, was awoken and tied up after being pepper-sprayed in the face, Brown said.

Barzola, from Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to burglary and faces 12 years in jail and two-and-a-half years post-release supervision.

Ramires pleaded guilty to the burglary charge on April 20, 2015, Brown's office said. He has yet to be sentenced.

“The victims in this case – both octogenarians – weren’t just robbed of their precious possessions. The defendant also stole their sense of security that they were safe in their own home," Brown said.

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