East Hampton Town police arrested a man on Monday whom they believe committed the burglaries that happened on Sammy's Beach Road in late January. Police said Justin Williams, 23, of Middle Island cased the houses while working in the area.
Two houses were hit. The owner of one of them spotted an intruder inside his home on Jan. 30, thanks to a Nest indoor video camera, and called police. Officers did not find the man, but found that a neighboring house had also been burglarized. A window was broken on one house, and a door had been left unlocked at the other.
The intruder made off with a nickel-plated Remington pump action shotgun and a large silver Bowie knife from one house, and alcohol from another. Detectives recovered evidence from the break-ins, including fingerprints, which led to Mr. Williams, who, according to Detective Sgt. Dan Toia, has a misdemeanor criminal record. Still images from the camera, which were released to the public, did not contribute to the arrest.
On Monday, police were preparing to go to arrest Mr. Williams when patrol officers spotted him driving through East Hampton Town in a work van. He was back again for work. They pulled him over on Montauk Highway in Wainscott, near the Highway Diner, and brought him to headquarters. The shotgun and the knife were recovered at his house, according to Detective Toia.
He was charged with two counts of burglary in the second degree, a felony. Though it is a non-qualifying offense under the new state bail laws, he was held overnight for arraignment. Justice Lisa R. Rana arraigned him in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court, where she had a civil calendar on Tuesday morning, and released him on his own recognizance because no bail could be set.
Matt D'Amato, his Legal Aid Society lawyer, told the court that Mr. Williams had worked for One Call Concepts, an underground-utility locator, for the last five months. He told the judge he makes about $40,000 per year. He has lived in Middle Island for 15 years, he said. His family was seated in the court.
Justice Rana told him that although he was being released, "these are very serious charges," adding that if he planned to hire a private attorney he ought to do so quickly, because his case could be presented to a Suffolk grand jury at any time. Orders of protection were issued to the owners of the two houses.