TV Thief Caught on Camera

A 21-year-old man is facing possible deportation, as well as significant jail time, after being arrested by Sag Harbor Village police Tuesday. Norbin Hernandez-Zuniga of Brentwood, a Honduran national, was arrested at a construction site on Taft Place. According to police, the contractor on the job contacted the Sag Harbor Department after viewing  surveillance footage from Monday.

Mr. Hernandez-Zuniga is seen in the fo along with another man, according to Chief Austin J. McGuire, entering the house, which is nearing completion, through a rear door at about 11 p.m., long after other workers had left. The video shows him walking through the house. At one point, apparently not realizing what it was, he picks up the video camera and looks into the lens. The two men then are seen picking up a 75-inch flat-screen Sony TV, still in its box, and taking it away. The television was valued at $1,975.

The first officer to view the video was Nick Samot, whose work the chief complimented. Officer Samot showed the video to the owner of the company Mr. Hernandez-Zuniga was working for and he immediately identified Mr. Hernandez-Zuniga, according to police.

Taken to headquarters, he allegedly gave a statement admitting the theft and named the other man, Angelo Leon. 

Mr. Hernandez-Zuniga initially told police his full name was Normin Zuniga Fernandez, rather than Norbin Hernandez-Zuniga. However, when his fingerprints and other identifying information were run through the F.B.I. database, his actual full name was revealed, according to police. He was charged with two felonies, burglary and grand larceny, as well as two misdemeanors, false personation, and criminal trespassing. 

Janine Rayano, the village’s associate justice, set bail at $10,000 during his arraignment yesterday. Two men in the courtroom during the arraignment apparently knew Mr. Hernandez-Zuniga and expressed surprise at the allegations. 

Besides revealing his identity, the F.B.I. database triggered a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain Mr. Hernandez-Zuniga for 48 hours after he otherwise would be released so that he could be taken into custody as part of a deportation process. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department honors ICE requests, so Mr. Hernandez-Zuniga would not be released even if bail were posted.