Thursday, October 1, 2026
Many West End residents are on edge following a recent string of burglaries in the area, as police search for a suspect who has ransacked at least five homes in the past several weeks.
In a letter sent to residents on Sept. 24, Police Commissioner Thomas Sofield Sr. wrote that there had been four burglaries at homes on
Maryland and Wyoming avenues and Alabama and Kentucky streets over a two-week period, and urged residents to report suspicious activity.
“They enter the home through either a side or rear window by pushing in an air conditioner or entering through an unlocked window,” Sofield wrote. “... [T]he subject ransacks the residence, usually stealing jewelry or cash.”
In what residents describe as a tight-knit neighborhood, doors and windows are often left unlocked in the summer months. “The residents have to be diligent in now locking their windows and doors, where in the past we really didn’t feel the need,” said Rick Hoffman, president of the West End Neighbors Civic Association. “We have to protect ourselves as best we can.”
According to a city official and a few residents, two of the burglaries occurred on the morning of Sept. 22. There were reports of another burglary last Sunday at a home on Pennsylvania Avenue, between 7 and 11 p.m., in which a flat-screen television was stolen.
Many residents said they were hoping for some answers from police at a meeting of the West End Neighbors Civic Association meeting scheduled for Wednesday, after the Herald went to press. “People are in fear, naturally — we have a lot of elderly people and young people who live alone,” said Maria Fitzgerald, the association’s vice president and a retired NYPD detective. “It’s not a random act anymore, and a pattern has been established. People feel violated — they want answers.”
On Monday, the Police Department announced that it was increasing the number of uniformed and plainclothes patrol officers in the West End. “The Long Beach Police Department is doing everything in its power to bring the responsible person to justice,” Detective Lt. James Canner said in a statement. “Every lead is being pursued and all recovered evidence is being thoroughly examined and analyzed.”
