Police: 'Blackout Bandits' Charged In Rye For Burglaries Following Sandy
RYE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - A pair of so-called "blackout bandits" have been charged with burglary in Rye, after police said they robbed potentially dozens of homes in just the past week and a half.
WCBS 880's John Metaxas reports
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The suspects, Robert Smith, 20, of Fairfield, Conn. and John Trully, 21, of Old Greenwich, are accused of taking advantage of the power outages following superstorm Sandy to rob homes, according to police.
"They were responsible for four burglaries and two attempted burglaries in the city of Rye that night within about a two-hour span," Rye Police Commissioner William Connors told WCBS 880's John Metaxas. "Very, very simple, basic crimes. Smashing the front door in and entry to take cash or cigarettes."
Smith and Trully have been charges with six counts of burglary or attempted burglary in Rye, but police have linked them to a total of 35 robberies from Westchester to Connecticut since Sandy hit.
"Two in Harrison, one in North Castle, eight in Greenwich, 15 in Fairfield, two in Wilton and one in Redding," Connors said. "It appears that they were taking advantage of the power outages and assuming that the camera systems and alarm systems were inoperable," Connors said.
The pair were caught at their last location with shards of glass on their sweatpants, presumably from the windows they had broken to gain entry, Metaxas reported.
"It's a shame to see anybody taking advantage of people while they're in this weakened condition and suffering through the circumstances," Connors told Metaxas.
The two Connecticut men are being held without bail at the Westchester County jail on burglary charges, the Journal News reported.
