Bay Shore man charged with setting booby traps
‘A Bay Shore man was arrested Saturday morning after booby-trapping his apartment door with a crutch, an elastic cord and a large knife, Suffolk police said.
Eric Stetz, of Brook Avenue, was charged with reckless endangerment after the building superintendent discovered the ready-to-stab device while trying to open Stetz’s door Thursday, police said.
The superintendent and a Verizon agent had come to Stetz’s home for a visit the super had warned Stetz would be necessary, police said. When their knocks went unanswered — Stetz was not home — the super went to open the door, felt resistance and found the rigged contraption, police said. [..]
Stetz was not charged in connection with a similar booby trap installed on a bedroom door in the apartment, said Sgt. Kevin Beyrer of the Third Precinct.
Stetz’s mother, Freda Stetz, said her son had rigged the device with a steak knife to protect himself from squatters who had taken up residence in the building.’