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Four men allegedly caught in the act of stealing scrap in Bergen

By Howard B. Owens

Four men were allegedly caught in the act Sunday stealing scrap metal from a scrap yard on Route 33 in Bergen and after further investigation they may be facing upgraded charges, Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said.

The four men were allegedly found on the scrap yard property when the owner's son drove by and spotted a suspicious vehicle parked near the lot.

It's not unusual, Brewster acknowledged, for scrap metal thieves from Rochester to hit locations in Genesee County.

"You know how scrap is these days and when you can go right to a scrap yard, it's like one-stop shopping," Brewster said.

The yard was apparently so attractive to the thieves, they allegedly got away with more than originally thought yesterday.

When they were arrested yesterday, they were charged with petit larceny, but the owner of the scrap yard visited a location in Rochester and was apparently able to prove more of his scrap was stolen earlier in the day.

That aspect of the case is being turned over to Rochester PD and the four men could face grand larceny charges as a result, Brewster said.

Arrested where Sekou Singhor Howard, 40, of Parkway, Rochester, Ricky Todd Williams, 54, of Parkway, Rochester, Isaac Brandon McCrea, 30, of North Union Street, Rochester, and Kenneth Russell Hernandez, 47, of Chesnut Street, Rochester.

All four men were issued appearance tickets.

T.J. McAllister

Also, when the deputies caught these guys they were in two pickup trucks and none of them had valid driver's licenses. The trucks were towed.

Nov 18, 2013, 4:32pm Permalink
david spaulding

while i'm not a cop, isn't burglary and trespassing involved here? or did I read more than I should have?....
"they were issued appearance tickets"...was this done on an app to a computer phone?
I can remember back in the day if you got caught doing something like this, you would be arrested (handcuffed, put in back of police car) and taken to jail and you'd sit there till someone posted the bail money..

Nov 18, 2013, 5:14pm Permalink
Lincoln DeCoursey

David, while I believe it's possible to be jailed on a misdemeanor arrest, it's common to be issued an appearance ticket. This still does involve being handcuffed, arrested, taken in a police car, photographed and fingerprinted at the police station. The experience is not like getting a traffic ticket.

Some people who are given this chance to appear on their own will ignore their court date and, in that eventuality, bench warrants will be issued. Rochester police handle these quite aggressively - they will come to your house repeatedly and at random hours of the day and night.

Burglary always involves entering into a building. If these people went onto an open lot protected by a fence, yes that could amount to trespassing, but trespassing is another relatively minor crime, not a felony. If the bunch had initially been charged with a felony, they would likely have been required to post some bail, especially being that they're all from out of town.

Nov 19, 2013, 9:11pm Permalink
david spaulding

thanks for the legal advise Lincoln, somewhere in the law it says something about, intention. the article says they were caught stealing metal from a scrap yard.
these guys came here from Rochester to steal, bottom line is crime pays in genesee county....

Nov 20, 2013, 5:31pm Permalink
Kyle Couchman

burglary n. the crime of breaking and entering into a structure for the purpose of committing a crime. No great force is needed (pushing open a door or slipping through an open window is sufficient) if the entry is unauthorized. Contrary to common belief, a burglary is not necessarily for theft. It can apply to any crime, such as assault or sexual harassment, whether the intended criminal act is committed or not. Originally under English Common Law burglary was limited to entry in residences at night, but it has been expanded to all criminal entries into any building, or even into a vehicle. (See: breaking and entering)

That is straight from a law school dictionary. I guess a fenced in enclosure is not considered for burglary. For now

Nov 20, 2013, 5:49pm Permalink

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