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Yonkers resident German Martinez pleaded guilty this week on nine counts for a spree that started the day after Christmas last year and continued into the first week of the New Year.
Specifically, Martinez pleaded guilty to:
- Two counts of first-degree burglary;
- One count of robbery;
- Six counts of second-degree burglary.
Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr. said that Martinez broke into several Westchester residences in a burglary spree from Thursday, Dec. 26 last year, through Saturday, Jan. 4 this year.
Scarpino said Martinez stole property, and/or threatened or injured victims at the scene.
Stolen property included cash, jewelry, laptop computers, and other items. In some cases, Scarpino said he broke a window to gain entry or forced his way in using a crowbar.
During one burglary, Martinez threatened a victim with a knife and, in another, he injured a victim at the scene of the burglary.
Scarpino said that Martinez hired taxis with unwitting drivers to help him during the spree by having them take him to the locations and had them wait for him to return.
Using license plate readers in the vicinity of the burglaries, investigators interviewed one of the cab drivers, who was able to give the police Martinez’s phone number.
Martinez was arrested in Yonkers on Tuesday, Jan 7.
According to Scarpino, three locations in Tarrytown - including one home twice - and one in Dobbs Ferry were targeted by Martinez late in December.
On Thursday, Jan. 2, two Yonkers residences and one in Sleepy Hollow were burglarized.
On Friday, Jan. 3, he burglarized a home in White Plains and the following day, a home in Rye.
When he is sentenced on Jan. 28, 2021, Martinez is expected to receive a term of 10 years in prison. Scarpino noted that at his sentencing, Martinez will also be instructed to pay undetermined restitution for the items he stole from his victims' homes.
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