Medford Man Arrested in East End Art Thefts; Grand Jury Indictment To Be Unsealed Friday

An arrest was made earlier this month in connection with a string of art thefts on the East End, a Suffolk County district attorney's office spokesman confirmed Thursday.

arrested Angel Palencia, 24, of North Dunton Avenue in Medford on April 7 and charged him with burglary in the second degree for allegedly stealing paintings and other valuables from an unoccupied home on Soundview Avenue in Southold. He will be arraigned Friday on a felony grand jury indictment for five counts of second-degree burglary and one count of second-degree grand larceny.

Palencia is suspected in the theft of at least 40 paintings, lithographs and other valuables worth in excess of $500,000 from the Soundview Avenue residence, two estates in Southampton Village, one in East Hampton Village and one residence in Shelter Island.

District Attorney Thomas Spota said the investigation is ongoing. , , , and Southold Town police all participated in the investigation.

Police have kept details of the rash of burglaries and the investigation close to the vest, but Southampton Village Police publicly reported two of the burglaries. One occurred on and a second on .