By LARRY MAIER
The 43-year old suspect, Larry Ellis, of Chicago, was arrested at the Stop and Shop in Hempstead on Thursday, Jan. 10. According to police, the suspect aroused the suspicion of the store's manager when he attempted to purchase over $1,000 worth of cigarettes using gift cards. The manager called police, who, after arriving on the scene, were able to trace the cards to a Catholic school in Milford, Connecticut, which had been previously robbed.
After a joint investigation by the Hempstead Police Department, the county's Crimes Against Property Squad and Third Squad detectives, police charged Ellis with three counts of burglary. Police say they have linked Ellis to a robbery at St. Barnabus Elementary School in Bellmore on Oct. 5, a robbery at St. Joseph's Elementary School in Garden City on Oct. 8 and one at the St. Boniface rectory in Sea Cliff on Nov. 23.
Det. Lucy Guido of the Crimes Against Property Squad said that Ellis is also a suspect in 14 other church robberies in Nassau County, including the Dec. 23 break-in at St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church on Oceanside.
Ellis is also a suspect in 11 church robberies in Suffolk County, a series of burglaries in Lansdale, Pennsylvania and a Chicago parole violation.
Ellis, who police say had been staying at the Quality Inn in Hempstead since mid-September, was arraigned Saturday, Jan. 12 at First District Court in Hempstead.
Church crime spree
Last week, the Herald reported that there has been dramatic rise in burglaries at churches and parochial schools on Long Island since last summer.
The Diocese of Rockville Centre has reported that 42 Catholic churches or schools have been burglarized since last mid-June. The majority of the break-ins, 36 of them, have taken place over the past three months. While Catholic churches have been hardest hit, buildings belonging to other denominations have also been frequent break-in targets in recent months, police said.
In most of the robberies, petty cash, valuables, and supermarket vouchers intended for parishioners in need totally anywhere from $100 to $1,000 was taken. The majority of expense to the churches and schools, however, has been from property damages.
Police said the estimated costs in stolen and damaged property totaled $3,000 at St. Anthony's and $500 at Sacred Heart R.C. Church in Island Park, according to police. "Cash and valuable property were taken from both churches," said Det. John Ceprini of the Nassau County Crimes Against Properties, which is responsible for the overall investigations in the county, specifically as they pertain to large-scale crime patterns.
