Accused of One-Man Crime Wave

A Springs man was arraigned Tuesday in Suffolk County Court in Riverside on nine felony charges, including burglary, grand larceny-auto theft, illegal weapons possession, and a grand larceny charge involving stolen credit cards.

According to East Hampton Town Police Capt. Chris Anderson, the arrest of Nicholas C. Gray, 27, ended a one-man crime wave that began on March 25 with the theft of a Jeep parked behind T & B Auto repair in Amagansett, and finished on April 6 with a burglary of a house on Marine Boulevard in Amagansett. Mr. Gray was arrested the next day by Suffolk County police, who took him into custody at the Lindenhurst Motel in Babylon, where East Hampton detectives learned Mr. Gray was staying.

In addition to allegedly stealing the Jeep, in which the keys had been left overnight, Mr. Gray was said to have stolen a 1997 Hyundai Elantra from the Amagansett train station, in which the keys were also left. That vehicle was later recovered in the parking lot at East Hampton Point on Three Mile Harbor Road. The Jeep was found parked at the Patchogue train station.

Marine Boulevard was a particular focus for Mr. Gray, the captain said, with two burglaries being reported on April 6, as well as a March 30 incident in which several credit cards were stolen from a work van parked on the boulevard by the ocean. Those credit cards were then used to make purchases, the captain said.

“He was developed as a suspect using outside information we received in addition to evidence left inside one of the stolen vehicles,” Detective Sgt. Greg Schaefer said Thursday. He said that when police went to 175 Marine Boulevard after receiving a complaint about a burglary on April 6, they discovered while canvassing the area that a second burglary had occurred at 189 Marine Boulevard. In one of those burglaries, the detective said, two collectible guns were stolen.

Detective Schaefer said the arrest of Mr. Gray occurred “without incident.” Mr. Gray was in possession of the two guns, one of which was functional and loaded.

Mr. Gray was initially arraigned in Central Islip on April 8 on weapons possession charges, and was then indicted by a grand jury on the nine felony counts on April 15.

Mr. Gray was re-arraigned following the indictment in the courtroom of New York State Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro in Riverside on Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty.

Bail was set by Justice Ambro at $40,000, which was not posted. Mr. Gray is being held in county jail in Yaphank.

Police are still investigating possible connections between Mr. Gray and other reported crimes. They believe that as summer residents return to East Hampton, more incidents may be uncovered. They ask that anyone with knowledge of related crimes call the detective division at 537-7575.