February 3, 1999

BROOKLYN WOMAN CONVICTED OF BURGLARIZING ASTORIA HOME

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today the conviction of a Brooklyn woman for the burglary of an Astoria resident's home.

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Linda Durant, 50, of 815 Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn. She was convicted of burglary in the second degree after a one week jury trial before Supreme Court Justice Stanley Katz. She will be sentenced on March 11 and faces up to life in prison as a mandatory persistent felon.

According to trial testimony, the defendant was driving in the Astoria neighborhood when she noticed that the victim's rear patio door was open. The defendant distracted the victim by ringing the front door bell and while the victim went to the front of the house, the defendant entered the rear and picked up a wallet that had been left on a table. The victim saw her and a verbal altercation took place with the defendant fleeing the premises. The wallet, which had contained a small amount of cash, was later recovered, near the scene minus the currency and returned to the victim. The victim managed to copy down the license plate of the car the defendant was driving and police traced the license plate number to the defendant's mother. Police arrested the defendant at her mother's home.

Assistant District Attorney Kay T. MacDermott of the Queens District Attorney's Kew Gardens III Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Robert J. Masters prosecuted the case.

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