Yonkers man convicted in Huntington home invasion

A Yonkers man was convicted Tuesday by a Suffolk County jury on charges that he participated in a violent home invasion in Huntington that prosecutors said stemmed from an argument between co-workers.

Vance Jackson, 47, was convicted on all 13 counts facing him, including robbery, burglary, assault, weapons possession and endangering the welfare of a child. The jury reached a verdict on its fourth day of deliberating.

Prosecutors had said Jackson shot one of the Virginia Street home's residents as he and three other people stole $3,500 on Aug. 28, 2009. The victim survived. Jackson is being held without bail in the Suffolk County jail. He faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 18.

Jackson, who previously had been convicted of federal firearms charges and served state prison time for robbery and stabbing an inmate, faces additional time in federal and state prison for violating parole and probation, Assistant District Attorney Glenn Kurtzrock said.

Jackson's attorney, Steven Raiser, of Hauppauge and Mineola, said he plans to appeal.

The other three people charged with Jackson pleaded guilty earlier this year for their roles in the robbery.

Kurtzrock said the burglary stemmed from a dispute involving a resident of the Virginia Street home, Aaron Johnson, who works for the Town of Huntington Department of Environmental Waste Management, and a co-worker.

Seeking revenge, the co-worker recruited others to confront Johnson at his home, Kurtzrock said. The co-worker, who is not being identified by Newsday, has not been charged, Kurtzrock said.

Johnson and the co-worker are still employed by the town, spokesman A.J. Carter said. He declined further comment.

Jackson shot Johnson in the neck during the robbery while another burglar, Benjamin Thompson, 32, of Brooklyn, shot Johnson's girlfriend and pistol-whipped another resident of the house. All victims survived the attack. Three children in the house were not injured.

Thompson, who pleaded guilty Aug. 31 to first-degree attempted robbery, was sentenced Oct. 1 to 16 years to life in prison. Two others, Natalie Desir, 28, of Nyack, and Theodore Briggs, 40, of the Bronx, each pleaded guilty in February to second-degree attempted burglary and second-degree attempted robbery. They are awaiting sentencing. Each is being held on $250,000 bail.