West End burglar facing 25 years to life

Jury convicts man behind 2010 crimewave in Long Beach

Posted

The man behind a rash of home burglaries that had West End residents on edge three years ago is facing 25 years to life in prison.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that it took a jury less than two hours on Wednesday to convict Joseph Moss, 42, of two counts of second-degree burglary.

Moss is accused of a series of burglaries that began on Sept. 14, 2010 that involved homes on Maryland, Wyoming and Pennsylvania avenues and Alabama and Kentucky streets, all occurring between 8 a.m. and noon, according to police officials at the time. The suspect typically pushed in an air conditioner or entered through an open window. No residents were home during the break-ins. Once inside, the burglar ransacked the homes, police said, and usually took cash and jewelry.

Moss was charged with three of the five burglaries when he was arrested by Long Beach Police Department detectives in Brooklyn on Oct. 27, 2010, after what police had described as a “relentless” manhunt. The arrest was welcome news to many West End residents at the time, who said that the burglaries had the community in virtual lockdown.

According to police, Moss had been living in an apartment on Indiana Avenue. Police distributed fliers throughout the West End during the two-week period when the burglaries were taking place, and Moss fled to Pennsylvania before returning to Brooklyn several times.

Rice said that sometime between 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2010 and 1:15 p.m. the following day, Moss broke into a Maryland Avenue home and stole several pieces of heirloom and Tiffany jewelry. Moss left behind a filtered cigarette butt in the kitchen and a black sock by the front door, as well as a set of keys. The stolen jewelry was never recovered.

Page 1 / 2