Valley Stream Man Pleads Not Guilty in West Hempstead PS5 Burglary

A Valley Stream man has pleaded not guilty to burglarizing a West Hempstead home last month and taking a PlayStation 5 console, two controllers, and clothing.

Juan Trejo Lopez, 25, is charged with second-degree burglary, a felony, according to Nassau County police. Court documents show he has entered a not guilty plea, as first reported by Patch.

Afternoon Break-In on June Place

Fifth Precinct officers were called to a home on June Place at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25, according to a Nassau County Police Department release. A 62-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man told responding officers that someone had entered the residence without permission while they were away, removing a PlayStation 5 console, two PlayStation controllers, and assorted clothing.

Detectives with the department’s Fifth Squad launched an investigation into the break-in. Trejo Lopez was “located and arrested without incident following a thorough investigation,” police said. The Daily Voice reported that detectives made the arrest on Friday, September 4, though the official department release did not specify an arrest date.

He was scheduled to appear for arraignment the following day, Saturday, September 5, at First District Court, located at 99 Main Street in Hempstead.

Second-Degree Burglary Charges in New York

Second-degree burglary is classified as a class C violent felony in New York. Under Penal Law § 140.25, the charge applies when an individual knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a building with intent to commit a crime therein, accompanied by aggravating statutory factors — in this case, that the building was an occupied dwelling.

Police have not disclosed how entry into the home was gained, whether the stolen console and controllers were recovered, or what investigative leads directed detectives to Trejo Lopez. No subsequent court appearances have been publicized, and investigators have not tied him to any additional area burglaries.

The case reflects an ongoing trend of gaming hardware targeted in residential break-ins and retail thefts. The Long Island incident follows a recent investigation into a PlayStation 5 stolen during an apartment burglary in Pennsylvania and a high-profile case involving PlayStation consoles stolen from a California GameStop. Sustained consumer demand and strong secondary-market values across Sony’s current PlayStation 5 ecosystem continue to make consoles attractive targets for opportunistic theft.

Trejo Lopez has pleaded not guilty. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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