Raven
Saturday, January 12th, 2008, 05:41 PM
Boys charged with 2 ‘brick’ burglaries
Two teenage boys were responsible for up to 26 burglaries in the city’s Ferry-Fillmore District, police brass said Friday as they announced that detectives had solved the “brick burglaries” caper.
Each burglary began with one of the young thieves throwing a brick through a window to gain entry to a home in the Genesee, Bailey, Doat and Sumner area, police said.
Eventually, a patrol officer’s quick response to a similar call Wednesday helped Buffalo police arrest 14- and 15-year-old boys, who are now charged with two of the crimes.
The 14-year-old Taunton Place boy has been charged as a youthful offender. Police still are trying to determine whether the 15-year-old Bailey Avenue resident will be charged as an adult or treated as a juvenile. Police are not releasing their names.
The bricks were part of the two young burglars’ M.O.
“It’s my understanding that the two juveniles would wait until people left the home — whether it was for work or whatever — and then they would throw a brick through the window, to make sure no one was home and that there wasn’t an alarm,” Buffalo police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said.
The two young thieves are accused of then entering the homes and grabbing whatever they could, including cash, jewelry, computers, electronic devices, computer games, weapons — and even a bottle of whiskey.
Detectives have identified 26 burglaries that began in early November and seem to fit a pattern. It wasn’t uncommon for the thieves to hit more than one home in a day, and most of the crimes were committed around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Once police discovered the pattern, Deputy Commissioner Daniel Derenda authorized a special unit in the area.
“When we have seen patterns of crime in the city, we have notified residents of that pattern, and we have set up police details [to solve those crimes,]” said Mayor Byron W. Brown at the conference with Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson.
The break in the case came early Wednesday afternoon when Officer Paul Sobkowiak got a report of a brick thrown through a Moeller Street window.
“Because all the personnel at C District knew what was going on, he made the connection, responded quickly, went to Moeller Street, and got a description of the kid,” DeGeorge said. Police tracked down the 14-year-old. Late that afternoon, they caught the 15-year-old in a stolen car.
“We’re going to make every effort to link them with as many of the 26 burglaries as we can,” Chief of Detectives Dennis J. Richards said.
Source (http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/249738.html)
Two teenage boys were responsible for up to 26 burglaries in the city’s Ferry-Fillmore District, police brass said Friday as they announced that detectives had solved the “brick burglaries” caper.
Each burglary began with one of the young thieves throwing a brick through a window to gain entry to a home in the Genesee, Bailey, Doat and Sumner area, police said.
Eventually, a patrol officer’s quick response to a similar call Wednesday helped Buffalo police arrest 14- and 15-year-old boys, who are now charged with two of the crimes.
The 14-year-old Taunton Place boy has been charged as a youthful offender. Police still are trying to determine whether the 15-year-old Bailey Avenue resident will be charged as an adult or treated as a juvenile. Police are not releasing their names.
The bricks were part of the two young burglars’ M.O.
“It’s my understanding that the two juveniles would wait until people left the home — whether it was for work or whatever — and then they would throw a brick through the window, to make sure no one was home and that there wasn’t an alarm,” Buffalo police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said.
The two young thieves are accused of then entering the homes and grabbing whatever they could, including cash, jewelry, computers, electronic devices, computer games, weapons — and even a bottle of whiskey.
Detectives have identified 26 burglaries that began in early November and seem to fit a pattern. It wasn’t uncommon for the thieves to hit more than one home in a day, and most of the crimes were committed around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Once police discovered the pattern, Deputy Commissioner Daniel Derenda authorized a special unit in the area.
“When we have seen patterns of crime in the city, we have notified residents of that pattern, and we have set up police details [to solve those crimes,]” said Mayor Byron W. Brown at the conference with Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson.
The break in the case came early Wednesday afternoon when Officer Paul Sobkowiak got a report of a brick thrown through a Moeller Street window.
“Because all the personnel at C District knew what was going on, he made the connection, responded quickly, went to Moeller Street, and got a description of the kid,” DeGeorge said. Police tracked down the 14-year-old. Late that afternoon, they caught the 15-year-old in a stolen car.
“We’re going to make every effort to link them with as many of the 26 burglaries as we can,” Chief of Detectives Dennis J. Richards said.
Source (http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/249738.html)