Raid at Armonk House Unnerving But Public Never in Danger: Chief
An 8,400-square foot home within Whippoorwill Country Club is one of the more exclusive neighborhoods in Westchester County and may be the last place you would expect a police raid.
But on Jan. 25, North Castle police, along with personnel from a host of other law enforcement agencies, descended upon 3 Tallwoods Rd. in Armonk as part of a coordinated operation that seized more than 100 weapons, including many “ghost guns” – firearms without serial numbers for tracking – in eight locations across Westchester and Putnam counties.
The biggest recovery came at the four-bedroom, six-bathroom house where its residents, Theodore Brois, 67, his wife, Helene, 61, and their 24-year-old son Brandon were all arrested and charged with felonies. North Castle Police Chief Peter Simonsen said about 60 weapons were taken by authorities from the location along with various gun parts that could have potentially been used to build additional firearms.
The activity in an otherwise quiet area alarmed residents who saw the road blocked at about 9:15 a.m. and a massive police presence that included a hostage negotiating team and a police helicopter circling overhead.
“I understand people are surprised but we took great measures and great lengths to ensure that the public remained safe through the operation,” Simonsen said.
Once the helicopter arrived and the suspects were arrested, North Castle sent out a Nixle message to alert residents of police activity and to reassure them they weren’t in danger, he said.
As police were executing the search warrant, one resident on social media believed they heard police calling out a person’s name on a bullhorn for them to surrender. The suspects were taken into custody without incident, Simonsen said. There were no injuries.
Simonsen said none of the extra assets that were brought in by police were needed to safely arrest the suspects. He said it was unknown why the family was stockpiling so many weapons.
Theodore Brois was charged with first-degree criminal possession of a weapon. His wife was charged with criminal possession of a firearm and their son faces second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon charges.
Police reopened the road at about 10:50 a.m.
Simonsen credited the FBI, the county police and the many other agencies involved for a successful conclusion.
“This was an outstanding collaboration and was very successful,” he said. “We live in a world where people and manufacturers can create firearms on something that occurred in the past. In law enforcement, we need to adjust and adapt to obtain those firearms that are part of the problem.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/