Police Offer Additional Information About the Manhunt in Greenacres

Scarsdale Police Captain Thomas Altizio answered some questions regarding the incident in Greenacres on Thursday night January 12th, when a 48 year-old woman was grabbed by a masked man in the driveway of her home, setting off a lengthy manhunt.

Police report that the woman arrived at Hartsdale Train Station at about 7:10 pm and walked home. When she reached her house on Donellan Road at 7:20 pm, she walked down her driveway to the side entrance of her home she noticed that a man had followed her down the driveway. He was about 5'8" tall, wore a black ski mask and displayed a silver firearm. He said "Don't say anything." The woman yelled her husband's name and the suspect said, "Give me your ring," and grabbed her arm. The woman screamed, ran into her house and called the police. She did not see which way the man fled. When police searched the property they found a glove at the base of the driveway. The man left with nothing.

Was this incident connected to a similar incident that occurred in Yonkers shortly afterwards? Police are working with detectives from Yonkers and say that though there are some similarities, they cannot confirm that the two incidents are related. Just 23 minutes after police received the call from the woman in Scarsdale, Yonkers police say that a 19-year-old woman was in her car when a masked man wearing all black and holding a gun got into the car and tried to sexually assault and rob her. This occurred near the corner of Scarsdale Road and Pennsylvania Avenue in Crestwood.

Scarsdale Police report that they did an extensive search for the man. According to Captain Altizio, all available Scarsdale units initially responded to the area, including the Scarsdale Chief of Police and they were assisted by several patrol units and a K-9 officer from the Westchester County Police. Helicopters from the Westchester County Police Aviation unit searched from overhead. During the initial response and subsequent search there were 10 to 12 officers (and one dog) on the ground in the Greenacres area.

Captain Altizio said, "I do understand that the presence of the low flying helicopter may cause some residents to become alarmed, but it does provide us with valuable resources in these types of situations. The aviation unit is able to utilize enhanced thermal imaging technology from the air that quickly locates people on the ground. Scarsdale officers conducting the ground search are in direct communications with the aviation crew and can be quickly directed to the location of a hiding or fleeing suspect."