Man charged in West End burglaries

The arrest of a man for driving while intoxicated led Long Beach police to connect the suspect with a string of burglaries in the West End. Juan Tobo, 36, of Farmingdale, was being investigated as a suspect in the burglaries, which took place between Oct. 14 and Oct. 24, when detectives discovered that he had been arrested on Oct. 24 by Nassau County police for drunken driving, Lt. Bruce Meyer explained.

Tobo was in possession of stolen jewelry when he was arrested by county police. He was rearrested by Long Beach police and charged with burglary on Oct. 24.

"We have had no burglaries reported in the West End, in the West Holm area or in Long Beach, for that matter, since his incarceration," said Detective Jim Canner, who added that the police department's Street Crime Unit will continue to patrol the area.

According to Meyer, Tobo attempted to rob one home on West Broadway and burglarized three on Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Arizona avenues, stealing jewelry and laptop computers. Canner explained that Tobo would enter a house by cutting a window screen and then exit through a door or window. Three of the four incidents took place in the middle of the night, and the other occurred during the day.

Canner reported the arrest at the Oct. 26 West End Civic Association meeting and one attendee said that many of her neighbors expressed an interest in staring a Neighborhood Watch program.

"There was a very active program years ago," Canner told the resident. "I'll try to find out how we can get it going again." He also said that the department would start a database of homes that are vacant during the winter months and report that information to neighborhood police officers.