Rockville Centre village hit by cluster of break-ins

Residents of the eastern section of Rockville Centre — including Muirfield Road, Voorhis Avenue, Knollwood Road, Millburn Street, Arden Court and Raymond Avenue were frightened by six burglaries and five larcenies that all took place in or near occupied homes on the evening of Jan. 4. (See the Crime Watch for details of each reported incident.)

Access in half of the burglaries, and all of the larcenies, occurred through unlocked doors and cars, police said, and the suspect took cash, bank checks, a laptop computer, Ipods, a television, epilepsy medication, 50 rounds of ammunition and a BMW that was parked at one of the burglarized homes.

“The person we suspect is responsible for the rash of occupied burglaries was arrested in Hempstead last week during the commission of another burglary,” said Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Charles Gennario. “The suspect who was identified by our Anti-Crime unit as being responsible, who we were actively seeking, was arrested and we are hopeful that the recent nighttime pattern will cease.

“We still need the residents to remain vigilant and heed those tips we have been putting out there,” Gennario added. “Burglaries, unfortunately, are a crime of opportunity that we will always have to deal with as a community. They occur in all jurisdictions and our community is not exempt from them.”