Watch stolen in nighttime burglary

The Island Now

A side door was broken and a men’s watch was stolen at a home on Homewood Drive in Shorehaven last Saturday at approximately 6 p.m., police said.  

“For several months we thought things had drastically improved,” said Richard Bentley, president of the Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations. “We need to be vigilant.”

Eloise Abdullah, a 3rd Precinct public information officer, said additional items may have been taken  but assembling a full inventory of stolen items can take a long time.

An attempted home burglary also took place in Manhasset last weekend, police said. Both incidents are under investigation.

The attempted burglary happened last Friday on Fairway Lane in the Strathmore Vanderbilt area between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. 

“Unknown persons tried to pry open a door,” Abdullah said. “The victim came home to see scratches on the door.” 

Further detail was not disclosed on account of the ongoing investigation, she said.

According to Bentley, a neighbor reported that it took nearly 25 minutes for the police to arrive at the scene of Saturday’s burglary. 

After an inquiry, police told Bentley that it took only five or six minutes for them to get to the house, he said. 

Bentley said he trusts the police account but speculated that the cause for the discrepancy may be a lag time on the part of the alarm company in notifying the police. 

“The normal sequence when a home alarm sounds is that the alarm company’s service dispatcher first telephones the homeowner to verify a password, and if no answer or wrong code is given, he then calls the police,” Bentley said. 

“It’s frustrating because the civic association is not able to nail down what looks like a delay in police response,” he added.

Home break-ins increase slightly following the return to standard time, as it becomes darker earlier, police said. 

Bentley said he thinks the burglaries have as much to do with the 2012 closing of Nassau County’s 6th precinct, which covered Manhasset, Roslyn, Great Neck, and Port Washington.

“We’re very concerned about home burglaries and have been ever since the 6th precinct was closed,” he said.

“I think the precinct is overburdened and can’t get to calls in a timely manner.”

Abdullah said police are canvassing homes to see if anybody witnessed the burglaries. Police encouraged residents to call 911 if they see anything suspicious. 

BY MAX ZAHN

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