Wildlife camera helps ChesCo cops nab serial burglar
A Chester County homeowner who had a camera trained on his yard to catch wildlife in action instead helped police nab a serial burglar.
A Chester County homeowner who had a camera trained on his yard to catch wildlife in action instead helped police nab a serial burglar.
Police found images of Larry Samuel, also known as Elijah Samuel, on the camera and were able then to link him to 13 burglaries in East Fallowfield, Valley and Sadsbury townships between Oct. 27 and Feb. 1, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced today.
Samuel, 32, of Coatesville, was charged with burglary, gun offenses and related crimes. Samuel allegedly stole electronics, jewelry, 10 firearms (including revolvers, shotguns, semi-automatics and a rifle), liquor, cash, a mink coat, prescription medication and even a child's bookbag during his three-month burglary spree. In most cases, he allegedly broke in through basement or first-floor windows. But at one home, he scaled a roof and entered through an open second-floor window, according to the criminal complaint. At another, he fished a spare key from under a flower pot and let himself in, according to the complaint.
"The defendant has been terrorizing Chester County townships for months," Hogan said. "He targeted homes around where he lived. He was bold enough to conduct some of these crimes during the day, with people present in the homes."
The three townships formed a task force to investigate the burglaries and caught a break in the case when they discovered Samuel's image on an East Fallowfield Township victim's wildlife camera, Hogan said. They then discovered Samuel had sold many of the stolen items at a nearby pawn shop, American Cash Traders. They also recovered some stolen ammunition and electronics at his home. Police say the goods stolen were worth at least $35,000.
None of the stolen firearms have been recovered. Samuel had previous convictions for escape and drug possession with intent to deliver, and so wasn't legally permitted to have firearms, according to the criminal complaint.
"The odds are strong that those firearms will end up with other criminals and will be used in other crimes," Hogan said. "The full impact of the defendant's criminal activity still has not been determined and will not be until we see where and when those guns are recovered."