Police are still investigating an incident on the night of Tuesday, April 10, in which a man was bound and robbed at his home in an upscale Guilderland neighborhood.
According to police, the homeowner at 122 Spyglass Court, identified by police as Mark Freeman, president and chief financial officer of Opensource, Inc., was confronted by two black males outside his home, which is assessed at more than $700,000, when he stepped out to smoke a cigarette at approximately 10:15 p.m. Freeman was dragged inside by his assailants despite resistance.
Once inside, Freeman was bound by duct tape, and one of the men displayed a handgun, said police. Freeman was home alone at the time of the incident.
The men left the scene with various objects stolen from the home, including a bankcard and Freeman’s 2004 Black BMW X3. Shortly afterward, the vehicle was located in the city of Albany at the Hannaford Plaza at Central and Colvin avenues.
According to Guilderland police Lt. Curtis Cox, the men used the bankcard to withdraw somewhere between $500 and $1,000, though the exact amount is still under investigation.
Police believe Freeman was bound for 15 minutes or longer. Freeman sustained minor lacerations and abrasions in the attack, said Cox, and was treated at the scene.
Freeman has declined to comment on the incident.
As of press time, police have no suspects and are still processing the car and the scene for evidence. A picture taken during an ATM withdrawal clearly shows the vehicle, though police aren’t sure whether the individual driving was one of the men involved in the attack or is a third individual.
Cox said he would not speculate on why Freeman was targeted.
In response to a similar incident in Slingerlands in November 2005, Bethlehem police have contacted Guilderland police. In the Slingerlands incident, a man was accosted by two or three individuals in his garage when he returned home. The victim had property stolen, including his vehicle, which was never recovered. No arrests have been made in that case.
Due to some similarities, our detectives contacted their detectives and they met and discussed the cases, said Bethlehem police Lt. Thomas Heffernan.
Heffernan called the similarities minor and said it’s `too early to tell` if the cases are related, though the two department will remain in contact as the investigation moves forward.
`The MO’s are the same and (investigators) are still trying to piece together information,` said Cox.“
