Residential shootings, attempted armed robbery reported to Albany Police Department

ALBANY — Assaults reported to the Albany Police Department involved the attempted armed robbery of a married couple who spoke little English, and two homes that had been shot up — one receiving dozens of bullet holes.

A few minutes after midnight on Thursday, officer Thomas Perry responded to the 1900 block of Robinhood Road regarding an armed robbery report. He made contact with a couple of Asian descent.

Through an interpreter, the couple told police they had been robbed when he arrived home.

“(The husband) stated that he was exiting his car when a red van stopped at the end of his driveway. He stated a black male ran from the van and pointed a gun at him demanding money,” the police report narrative said. “(He) stated he did not have any money to give them. He stated the subject got into the van and left traveling west.”

The report said the husband said his wife was still in their car and had not gotten out. He added that the men were black males but could not provide further details. The event happened at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, but the victim said he had to wait for an interpreter before calling 911, the police report said.

Perry wrote that, due to the time that had elapsed, a vehicle matching the description of the van was not found. Due to the language barrier, a written statement was not collected.

Another police report said officer Trafton Owens responded to the 1500 block of Gillespie Avenue at 5:26 a.m. Thursday regarding a criminal trespass to find a residence had been shot at.

The report said a woman was awakened by her husband who said someone was shooting at their residence. The wife said she heard three gunshots and that she did not hear a vehicle quickly leave the area.

The wife said shots came through the laundry room and landed in the den area, and that she heard a shot in the front of her residence. She said she saw a bullet hole in the laundry room and den area, and two holes through the front porch glass, the report said.

The husband said he heard five or six shots and was unsure of where the shots were coming from and what the shooter was aiming at. He also said his home has been shot at several times in the past and that he does not know who shot at it this time.

“I observed the residence (at which the shots were fired) to have several bullet holes already shot through the residence,” the narrative said. “I took pictures of the three bullet holes that were identified by (the wife) as new bullet holes that were shot through the residence this morning.

“The new bullet holes were located in the den/laundry room and the front porch area.”

The officer wrote that a search was conducted in the roadway to locate shell casings, which was unsuccessful. The couple was not hurt in the shooting, the report said.

A similar shooting incident was reported at 6 a.m. Wednesday on the 700 block of West Second Avenue, which had more than two dozen bullet holes found in a residence, a report on the incident said.

The report, drafted by officer Thomas Stroud, said a man indicated he’d heard multiple shots around his residence, and that he and his live-in girlfriend got on the floor to avoid getting hit by the bullets. He called police when the shots stopped and checked on his roommate to find he had nearly been struck.

The man reporting the incident said he did not see anyone, and that he had no known enemies. He said he has only lived in the residence for two or three months.

The roommate told police he was downstairs on the couch at the time of the shooting and that he also got on the floor for protection. He said he did not see anyone outside the residence and did not have any enemies either.

He added that the couch was hit four times.

“(The roommate) also advised that the suspect(s) were probably looking for a murder suspect who is already in jail,” Stroud wrote. “(The roommate) advised that he thinks this is probably mistaken identity.”

The girlfriend declined to give a written statement to police, the report said.

Stroud said there were six bullet holes in the front west side of the residence, and 22 bullet holes in the west side. All the shell casings were found on a walking path on the west side. Four windows were found to have bullet holes in them, and multiple walls inside the home were damaged at an estimated cost of $1,100.

The officer said no other signs of evidence were found in the immediate area.

Investigations were opened on all three incidents and remain active.