Onondaga County man gets 20 years for burglary spree attack

The burglary spree that rattled Nedrow ended with a long prison term and a stark reminder that a home invasion can turn violent in seconds. Raysean Broadwater was sentenced in Onondaga County Court to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree burglary and assault, with the two 20-year terms set to run concurrently.

The case drew attention because the attacks were not limited to theft. Broadwater admitted to striking a 40-year-old man with a toilet tank cover while inside the man’s home without permission, leaving the victim with a fractured skull and a brain bleed. In another break-in, Broadwater assaulted a 14-year-old victim after deputies responded around 4 a.m. on Sept. 30, 2024, to a burglary report on Stonefield Road.

Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office investigators said Broadwater was responsible for several home invasions, each involving assaults on the residents. Earlier surveillance video from a doorbell camera captured him at a victim’s front door in the early morning hours of Sept. 30, adding to the evidence that tied the break-ins together. The sheriff’s office said the incidents were part of a broader string of intrusions that left people in their homes facing direct physical danger, not just property loss.

The sentence gives the victims and their neighbors a measure of closure, while also underscoring how quickly an ordinary burglary can escalate once an intruder gets inside. Broadwater had already served two prior stints in state prison for burglaries, a detail that added weight to the court’s decision and raised fresh questions about how repeat offenders are handled when property crimes cross into violent assaults. For residents in and around Onondaga County, the case landed as a warning that the threat inside a front door can be as serious as anything outside it.