Crime & Safety

'Serial Burglar' Faces Life in Prison for South Fork Burglaries, DA Says

Suffolk County District Attorney's office says Justin Bennett was identified by a homeowner who caught him in his house.

Justin T. Bennett, who was arrested last month after an investigation into dozens of burglaries in East Hampton and Southampton towns, could spend life in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Michelle Chiuchiolo, who works in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Major Crimes Bureau, said that Bennett, 35, is looking at 15 years on each of the 25 second-degree burglary charges handed down in the 27-count indictment on Nov. 1.

Arraigned before Judge Richard Ambro in Suffolk County Criminal Court on Thursday, Bennett's bail was increased in light of additional charges since his arrest. He is being held at the Suffolk County jail on $200,000 or $400,000 bond.

Brought in wearing handcuffs, a sweater and slacks, he pleaded not guilty.

Bennett, a Springs resident who grew up in Sag Harbor, has been behind bars since Oct. 24, the day after his 35th birthday. East Hampton Town, Southampton Town and Sag Harbor Village police investigated a series of burglaries that took place over 10 months, ultimately developing Bennett as a suspect.

Bennett gave detectives "elaborate confessions," Chiuchiolo said, adding that police took him to each of the houses he burglarized, and he showed them how he broke in — usually finding an unlocked door or a hide-a-key — and told them what he took.

He reportedly stole more than $126,000 in jewelry, cash and prescription medications between January and October 2013. One of the burglaries was at the home of a breast cancer patient who was raising money for the LI2Day Walk, which helps support breast cancer-related initiatives, like Lucia's Room at Southampton Hospital.

He pawned the jewelry, including family heirlooms and engraved wedding rings, to feed his "severe heroin addiction," the ADA said, adding he displayed his ID when doing so. With the help of New York Police Department detectives, some of the jewelry was recovered, and police are in the process of having victims identify their jewelry.

In a few instances, Bennett got caught by the homeowners. Chiuchiolo said a resident of one of the houses he broke into was able to identify him.

Though Bennett has no prior criminal record, the ADA said he does have an open case pending on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

He is due back in county court on Dec. 6.


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