Published: May 14, 2008 01:20 am            

COUNTY COURT: Trial begins in home invasion case

A trial began Tuesday in Niagara County Court for two men accused of participating in a home invasion last year on Locust Street.

Antonio Clark, 20, of Prospect Street, and Rakeem Golson, 17, of Evans Street, are each facing several charges in connection with an alleged home invasion in a Locust Street apartment April 3, 2007.

Golson and Clark were among several people charged. A co-defendant, Amy L. Bower, has already pleaded guilty to fourth-degree conspiracy.

Three suspects reportedly entered the third-floor apartment just after 12:35 a.m. and pistol-whipped two residents and three visitors.

Clark and Golson allegedly stormed in, one armed with a gun and the other with a knife. They allegedly robbed and assaulted one woman and threatened a man in the apartment.

Police said the suspects got away with cash from the victims’ pockets, an XboX game system and five videotapes.

On Tuesday, prosecutors called their first witness, Lockport Police Officer Gregory Chambers, who was the first officer on the scene.

Chambers testified that he arrived at the Locust Street home after dispatch received a call about a possible stabbing.

When he arrived, one of the victims was yelling out the third-floor window at him, the report said.

“He was yelling at me to hurry up, because there was a girl up there bleeding real bad,” Chambers said.

When Chambers got to the apartment on the third floor, he found a woman bleeding from the head. The male victim was bleeding from wound behind his ear, he said.

Chambers said other officers arrived within a minute, along with rescue crews who began treating the victims. After taking statements from two witnesses, he went back to police headquarters.

Prosecutors showed photographs of the crime scene during Chambers’ testimony, including photos of the inside the apartment and a photograph of the wound on the male victim’s head.

One of the photos showed a purse with its contents strewn about, while another showed a bloody T-shirt.

Testimony will continue today.

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

        

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