Nassau County Police walked into a Uniondale house yesterday and caught, they say, a Hempstead man in the kitchen — in the middle of a burglary.
They did not explain what he was doing there, how he got in, or why he was not authorized to be there at his arraignment this morning.
Police did say they got a frantic 911 call Tuesday morning, just before 10 a.m., about a “burglary in progress”, the Uniondale resident telling them someone had entered the house knowing the resident wasn’t home.
It was someone she knew.
A 1st Precinct detective says Nassau cops arrived at Larboard Court and discovered Kennon O. Knight, 38 — now, a Hempstead resident — inside, standing in the kitchen. Police say he was holding items that belonged to his ex, who lives there.
Police did not say what, if anything, Knight was cooking. But he was immediately arrested on criminal charges of Aggravated Harassment under NY Penal Law 240.30 01B, 2nd degree Burglary under PL 140.25 2, and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the 5th degree under PL 165.40.
He pleaded Not Guilty.
At Knight’s arraignment this morning, an Asst. District Attorney brought up Knight’s other open, active criminal case from last summer. She also noted he has no other criminal history.
Court filings show that on June 8, 2023, Nassau County police pulled him over for a traffic stop after observing equipment violations for headlights and “obstructed vision”. Police also said the car was not inspected.
Upon further investigation, police in that case said Knight was driving without a license. That allegation qualified him for 4 more counts on that traffic ticket for repeated unlicensed driving. Three of those license counts are Misdemeanors.
Knight was arraigned in that case on July 20, 2023, before Judge Jaclene Agazarian. He was scheduled, as luck would have it, to appear before Judge Lisa Petrocelli today.
But at this morning’s arraignment in his new Burglary case, the Legal Aid lawyer assigned to represent him pointed to Knight’s punctuality and diligence, making all his court appearances for the traffic case from June. She asked Judge Norman Sammut to release Knight on his own recognizance.
The judge released him with conditions and the Burglary case was adjourned. The judge also issued an order of protection for the complaining witness in this case — his ex in a relationship that ended badly, his attorney told the judge.
Knight lives on Terrace Avenue in Hempstead. He has a kitchen. Maybe still looking for love.
