Thursday, October 1, 2026
Following several home burglaries in September that had West End residents on edge for weeks, Long Beach detectives nabbed a man in Brooklyn last week in what police officials described as the end of a “relentless” manhunt.
Joseph Moss, 40, of Long Beach, was arrested at 6:40 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Fort Hamilton Parkway and 58th Street, after a search that, according to Police Commissioner Thomas Sofield Sr., took Long Beach detectives and members of the Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit through Nassau County, Queens, Brooklyn and even to Pennsylvania.
Moss is accused of a series of burglaries that began on Sept. 14 and involved homes on Maryland, Wyoming and Pennsylvania avenues and Alabama and Kentucky streets, all occurring between 8 a.m. and noon, police officials said. The suspect, according to police, typically pushed in an air conditioner or entered through an open window. No residents were home during the break-ins. Once inside, the burglar ransacked the homes, police said, and usually took cash and jewelry.
“There was a distinctive pattern to these burglaries linking them together,” Sofield said in a statement.
The last break-in, police said, occurred on Sept. 25, after which the pattern appeared to stop. Nevertheless, police officials told residents at a West End Neighbors Civic Association meeting on Sept. 29 that they were aggressively pursuing every lead in order to catch the suspect. A confidential tip line was also used to solicit the public’s help.
Early in the investigation, police officials said, Moss became a person of interest and then a main suspect. Then, on Oct. 22, police said they had received positive confirmation of DNA evidence that was collected at the burglary locations. According to police officials, the DNA was a positive match with Moss’s. The evidence was presented to a First District Court Judge and an arrest warrant was issued.
“We got a hit on the DNA, and that was the big break in the case,” said Deputy Inspector Bruce Meyer. “We had other physical evidence at the scene, and a big part of police work is making a case that would ensure a conviction. We were confident from the beginning that we were on the right track, and the DNA was the icing on the cake.”
Meyer explained that Moss has an extensive criminal record and had served time for burglary in the past.
According to police, Moss had been living in an apartment on Indiana Avenue. Police distributed fliers throughout the West End during the two-week period when the burglaries were taking place, and Moss fled to Pennsylvania before returning to Brooklyn several times while detectives had him under surveillance, police said.
Detective Lt. James Canner said that Moss’s arrest was the culmination of a concentrated effort by detectives and the Street Crimes unit. “Early in the investigation, the Long Beach Police Detective Division did everything in its power to bring this responsible person to justice,” Canner said in a statement. “Every lead was pursued, and all recovered evidence was thoroughly examined and analyzed.”
The arrest was welcome news to many West End residents, who said that the burglaries had the community in virtual lockdown. “It’s relief that they finally got the guy,” said Rick Hoffman, president of the West End Neighbors Civic Association, who said he learned about the arrest shortly after the organization’s Oct. 27 meeting. “Some of the people were frustrated about how long it took, but to make it stick, [investigators] had to cross their t’s and dot their i’s.”
One Pennsylvania Avenue resident, who asked not to be named, said that there is a sense of relief around town. “People were on edge, but now everyone is locked up anyway because it’s winter and the windows are closed,” she said. “I think people are glad to know that the guy was caught because no one wants to live in a neighborhood and worry.”
The resident added that she would like to see an increased police presence in the West End, however, and that she was worried about similar crimes recurring next summer, after the West End experienced not only the burglaries, but a rash of bicycle thefts and automobile break-ins this summer.
“They caught this guy, but does the police presence disappear in the West End?” she asked. “The concern for a lot of people is, where’s the presence in the summer?”
Florida Street resident Patrick Arcese lauded the police for arresting Moss and their handling of the investigation. “Everybody is happy about the arrest, but the police should have some recognition,” Arcese said. “When they do something good, some people take it for granted.”
He described residents as less “edgy,” after weeks of being wary of people passing through the neighborhood who may have been involved. “Everybody was looking around like, ‘Who’s the one who did it?’” Arcese said. “…When something like that is going on, people are very leery about
everyone.”
Moss was arraigned in Long Beach City Court on Oct. 28 and held without bail. He was charged with three of the five burglaries, police officials said, before being taken to the Nassau County Correctional Facility in East Meadow. His attorney, Jeff Groder, did not return a call for comment.
Canner said that the investigation is continuing, and that detectives are examining other local burglaries “to see if there may be a link to this burglary and any other unsolved burglaries.”
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