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Mostly Cloudy Long Beach resident charged with string of burglaries
LBPD nabs 'one person crime wave' after she allegedly took cash, jewelry
A West End woman that Long Beach police described as a "one person crime wave" was arrested and charged with committing a series of burglaries over several days in both Long Beach and East Atlantic Beach.
Oceanview Avenue resident Maria Pretino, 39, was arrested on Jan. 26 and charged with three counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary, according to the Long Beach Police Department's Public Information Officer, Sgt. Eric Cregeen. The burglaries, he said, were committed over a span of two to three days, and included stolen cash and jewelry.
Police said that on Jan. 24, Pretino allegedly burglarized a New York Avenue home, and later attempted a burglary on Alabama Street. Additionally, police said that she committed another burglary at Nebraska Street on Jan. 26. Pretino also allegedly burglarized a home on Malone Avenue in East Atlantic Beach, though Cregeen could not provide the date. Police also did not specify how Pretino committed the burglaries, nor did they say what time she allegedly entered the homes.
"This is another fine example of the high-caliber police work exemplified by the Long Beach Patrol Force and Detective Division," said Police Commissioner Michael Tangney in a statement. "Our detectives conducted a thorough investigation," he said, "and they did an outstanding job of quickly tracking key evidence."
Det. Michael Corbett said that police were able to recover "nearly 90 percent" of the stolen items, which he said will be returned to owners. "A substantial amount of physical evidence was collected at the various burglary scenes, enabling us to capture the defendant quickly," he said.
Cregeen could not immediately provide the total value of cash and jewelry that was stolen.
"If we hadn't picked her up, this could have gone on," he said. "She had the potential to be a one person crime wave, and fortunately we were able to stop her."
Cregeen said that Pretino was arraigned by City Court Judge Frank Dikranis in Long Beach City Court on Jan. 27. Cregeen added that Pretino's case was transferred to Nassau County Court. Her next court appearance is set for Feb. 2.
