By KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
Arthur C. Brown, 37, of 573 East 22nd St., Brooklyn, is charged with burglarizing at least 16 apartments, houses and co-ops, allegedly netting between $1,000 to $33,000 worth of jewelry, cash and credit cards during each heist across Long Island, New York City and New Jersey from 1998 to 2002, according to police.
Brown was arrested on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 8:20 p.m. at the mother of his two children's house in Brooklyn by Nassau County police officials and the U.S. Marshal New York-New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force. The suspect was charged with one count of first-degree burglary, 13 counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of attempted second-degree burglary, according to Nassau County First Squad Police Lt. Andrew Fal.
With the 16 burglary charges -- including those in Merrick, three in Lynbrook and one in Woodmere and Rockville Centre -- Brown was arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on Thursday, Sept. 26 and held without bail. Brown also faces two counts of second-degree burglary in Long Beach from 1996 and was arraigned on those charges on Friday, Sept. 27.
If convicted, Brown could face up to 25 years for first-degree burglary, up to 15 years for second-degree burglary and up to seven years for attempted second-degree burglary, according to police officials.
Police have been searching for Brown, who also went by the aliases Richard Powell, Arthur Brown, Richrad Powell, Clarence Scott, Clarence Sott, Hollis Clarence Noel and Riche Powell, since 1998. According to Nassau County Assistant District Attorney and Roxanne Paquette, the Nassau County contact for the United States Marshal Task Force, Brown's fingerprints were found at the scene of two Long Beach burglaries in 1996, although police were unable to link the fingerprints to Brown until 1998.
A convicted felon, Brown's priors include second-degree burglary for which he was sentenced to 18 to 54 months in prison in 1982. According to Paquette, Brown was also convicted in 1986 for attempted criminal possession of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to four years in prison. After serving part of his sentence, Brown was released on parole, said Paquette.
Currently, Brown has federal warrants pending for unrelated crimes from Levittown, Queens and Bergen and Kings counties.
According to police, Brown allegedly burglarized apartments and co-ops and traveled by car. Brown would pick the locks and in some cases, police said, the victims were unaware of the burglary at the time.
"While people were out making a living, he robbed during the day," said Fal. "He was pretty careful."
Other then "good old fashioned police work at its best," Paquette said she could not comment on the investigation.
When police arrested Brown, they found assorted high-end jewelry and about $10,000 in his possession. Brown also had his bags packed Paquette said.
"He is a fugitive that was trying to avoid apprehension," said Paquette.
On average, Brown allegedly stole $3,000 worth of jewelry, credit cards and cash each heist, said Fal.
While officials only arrested Brown, an on-going investigation for additional accomplices is still underway, according to Paquette.
The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Nassau County Police Department, the Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon's office, The United States Marshal Task Force and the Long Beach, Westchester County, Rockland County and New York City police departments.
