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CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y. Two suspects were arrested Friday night in connection with a string of day time burglaries in the Lake Allendale neighborhood of Cortlandt Manor, police said.
Robert Jakaitis, 26, of 4 Aldar Court, Cortlandt, and William Desantes, 26, of 14 North 4th St., Cortlandt, were arrested and both charged with several felonies, including multiple counts of burglary.
In all of the burglaries, residents told police that they either came home while the burglaries were going on and scared off the perpetrators or found their homes burglarized upon their return.
Burglars apparently would sneak into opened windows and doors of the victims houses, stealing cash and jewelry, police said. Some of the stolen jewelry was recovered at a local pawn shop.
In one incident, police said, a woman came home and found the perpetrator in her closet after she reached for her sneakers and felt something warm and fuzzy, apparently grabbing the mans leg. Another victim came home to find the perpetrator in her bathroom. The burglar locked the door and escaped through the bathroom window.
Jakaitis has been charged with seven counts of felony burglary in connection with the burglaries. Police said they believe Desantes assisted Jakaitis. Desantes is charged with two counts of felony burglary. They are both currently being held at state police barracks in Cortlandt pending arraignment in the Town of Cortlandt Justice court.
Police said Desantes was additionally charged with two counts of felony forgery and one felony count of offering a false written instrument for allegedly giving a false name during processing.
A search of Desantes real name revealed that he is currently wanted on warrants from the Town of Cortlandt for driving while intoxicated and in New York City for criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.
The investigation was led by state police and involved Westchester County blood hounds, state police air patrol, state police Forensic Identification Unit and both uniform and BCI members of State Police in Cortlandt.
The two defendants will be arraigned in Town of Cortlandt Court Friday night and are due for their first regular court appearance Monday at 9 a.m.
Anyone with information regarding the defendants is encouraged to contact the State Police BCI at (914) 788-8044.
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