Keri Russell burglary suspect has illicit past

HOLLYWOOD, CA - AUGUST 08: Actress Keri Russell arrives at the premiere of 'Austenland' at ArcLight Hollywood on August 8, 2013 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

Angela Weiss/Getty Images

Actress Keri Russell, star of ‘Felicity’ TV series, was the victim of a burglary Wednesday. She was alone when her Brooklyn home was targeted.

A day after actress Keri Russell had a near-encounter with a pair of burglars at her Brooklyn house, it was revealed the “Felicity” star and her husband have split.

“They have been separated since early summer,” Russell’s rep told People magazine of the actress and her hubby of seven years, Shane Deary, a contractor.

“The separation is amicable and their focus is on their children,” the rep said of the couple, who have two children together — 6-year-old River and 23-month-old Willa.

Russell, 37, was sleeping alone when Wednesday’s frightening pre-dawn break-in occurred.

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Ronald Swindell is brought in on charges of burglarizing Keri Russell's Brooklyn home.

Sam Costanza

Ronald Swindell is brought in on charges of burglarizing Keri Russell’s Brooklyn home.

The Golden Globe-winner — who plays a KGB sleeper agent in the FX series “The Americans” — sported a big smile Thursday as she played down the invasion of her rented Brooklyn Heights home.

“Everything’s OK,” all I want to say — and the police were so great,” said Russell, 37, as she returned to the Hicks St. house with her youngest child.“They were so fast. They were so great.”

Russell was in the house by herself when two burglars entered through an unlocked window at 3 a.m. She was startled awake by their voices and footsteps and when she went to investigate, they had already fled.

She’s lucky she didn’t come face-to-face with the accused burglars: Ronald Swindell, 50, and his crime protégé, nephew Steffon Swindell, 19.

RELATED: KERI RUSSELL’S BROOKLYN HOME BROKEN INTO: COPS

Steffon Swindell, 19, is also suspected in the Wednesday burglary — following in the crooked footsteps of a bad uncle.

Sam Costanza

Steffon Swindell, 19, is also suspected in the Wednesday burglary — following in the crooked footsteps of a bad uncle.

Ronald Swindell’s brother said the career-criminal, who just got out of prison on Nov. 22, is off his rocker.

“My brother is bipolar,” said Jerry Swindell, 52, told the Daily News. “He can’t function without medication. He has a lot of medical issues.

“My brother can’t deal with society. He needs to be in a mental institution. How else can you explain getting out of jail and going back in just a few days?”

Ronald Swindell has served four different prison sentences for burglary and criminal possession of a weapon. He made the front cover of The News in 1987 after stealing guns and a bulletproof vest from Transit Police headquarters in Brooklyn.

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Keri Russell, who has two young children, was alone when two men broke into her Brooklyn Heights home.

Splash News

Keri Russell, who has two young children, was alone when two men broke into her Brooklyn Heights home.

He was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court Thursday on charges of burglary and criminal possession of stolen property. His nephew was only charged with criminal possession of stolen property.

They were both nabbed after allegedly burglarizing another Brooklyn Heights house about two hours after hitting Russell’s abode.

Ronald Swindell was ordered held without bail and to undergo a psychiatric examination. Steffon Swindell was being held on $ 50,000 bail or $ 100,000 bond.

Steffon Swindell’s mom, Tannen, blamed her brother for teaching her son how to be a cat burglar. She said her son is on probation for a burglary over the summer, but seemed to be straightening out his life before his uncle got out of prison.

“At Thanksgiving he showed me he’d finished high school,” said the mother, whose son attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn. “He’s been doing well. He showed me a college application.”

Loretta Swindell said her brother, Ronald, has been institutionalized since he was 10, going from foster home to prison.

“Steffon is just a boy, but he’s following in the footsteps of my brother,” Loretta Swindell said. “He doesn’t know what he’s in for.”


Daily News – Gossip

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