3 Indicted After Ossining Police Foil Home Burglary

OSSINING, NY — Three Queens men accused of burglary at a home in Ossining have been indicted, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah and Ossining Police Department Chief Aaron Zimmerman announced today. One is also accused of a hate crime.

Prosecutors alleged the three broke into the home of a local business owner who is Asian, at 12:18 p.m. on Sept. 29 to steal designer handbags. They alleged Gonzalez targeted the victims’ home based on stereotypes about their wealth.

During a coordinated takedown, the Ossining Police Department, with the assistance of multiple law enforcement agencies, converged on the victims’ home and arrested the three during the incident.

The indictment over the September 2023 residential burglary follows a multi-agency investigation.

“These arrests were the result of a culmination of diligent investigative work conducted by multiple agencies all working together toward a common goal," Zimmerman said. "I want to assure Ossining residents of our continued commitment to public safety and eradicating hate from our community.”

The Briarcliff Manor Police Department, the Croton-on-Hudson Police Department, the Hastings-on-Hudson Police Department, the Sleepy Hollow Police Department, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the Westchester County Police’s Real Time Crime Center, the Greenburgh Drug and Alcohol Task Force, and New York State Police assisted with the investigation.

According to the indictment:

• Juan Carlos Sierra Gonzalez, 48, of East Elmhurst, was charged with two counts of Burglary in the First Degree as a Hate Crime, two counts of Burglary in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, Burglary in the First Degree, Burglary in the Second Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and Possession of Burglar’s Tools.
• Jaime Bryan Chang-Fuentes, 25, of Jamaica, was charged with Burglary in the First Degree, Burglary in the Second Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and Possession of Burglar’s Tools.
• Job Vera Zambrano, 25, of Corona, was charged with Burglary in the First Degree, Burglary in the Second Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and Possession of Burglar’s Tools.

Gonzalez and Zambrano were arraigned on Apr. 9 before New York State Supreme Court Justice Anne E. Minihan in Westchester County Court. Chang-Fuentes, who failed to appear in court, will be arraigned on Apr. 16, the DA's office said.

"Residential burglaries not only lead to a loss of property but make residents feel vulnerable in their own homes," Rocah said.

One of these defendants allegedly targeted the home of Asian residents based on stereotypes about their wealth. Dangerous generalizations based on a person’s national origin are precisely what New York’s hate crime statutes are designed to address," Rocah said. "I applaud the extraordinary work of the police and investigators in this case.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Celia Curtis of the Trials and Investigations Division.

The charges against the defendants are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.