A Mineola resident confronted an intruder in her Garfield Avenue home on Tuesday.
At around 10:10 am, Catia Teixeira heard a knock on her side back door, police said. She was home with her one-year-old and her nearly-one-year-old nephew.
Teixiera then heard the door open. She first assumed it was her husband, she said in a television interview, but when she went to check, she encountered an intruder standing in her house.
When asked what he was doing there, the man told her he was there to repair TVs and tablets, Teixiera said in the interview. She asked how he got into her house. He presented a business card and repeated that he fixes TVs and tablets, Teixiera said.
She told the intruder to back up. He had to be told three times before he obeyed, said Teixiera.
The man remained in the house while she called the police and her husband, who was nearby. Teixiera’s husband rushed home and saw the man still in the house. The intruder fled before police arrived.
Police arrested the intruder shortly after the break-in. He was identified as 37-year-old Gordan Markais, of Austell, Ga. Teixiera described the man as about six feet tall.
Video footage shows Markais attempting to break into two cars in the neighborhood prior to entering Teixiera’s home, police said.
Markais was charged with burglary, trespass and possession of burglar tools. He is due back in court next week. He was released on bail and ordered to stay away from Teixiera and her family.
