Fairfield Burglar Charged In Multi-State Investigation: Police

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Fairfield man was arrested over the weekend in New Jersey in connection with numerous burglaries in the tri-state area, according to authorities.

Authorities said Patrick Ryan, 30, had been under investigation for more than a year by multiple agencies in three states. He is accused of burglarizing numerous residents throughout the tri-state area, including locations in New Jersey, New York, along with New Canaan, New Milford and Greenwich.

Ryan was apprehended by officers as a result of a multi-jurisdiction investigation. He was in possession of several victims’ personal property as well as specific tools used while committing these burglaries, police said.

As a result of the investigation a multitude of stolen property was recovered, including: a shotgun, a crossbow, nine handguns, multiple handbags and purses, multiple credit cards, personal identifications, cash, burglar tools, and a large amount of gift cards.

When Ryan was arrested Saturday night, New Jersey authorities had a warrant for Ryan's house in Fairfield but did not have jurisdiction, so Fairfield police obtained a warrant and conducted a search and seizure Sunday on Longview Avenue to claim any stolen property, Lt. Antonio Granata of the Fairfield Police Department told Patch.

Fairfield police are currently itemizing more than 100 stolen items seized from the home, and will work with New Jersey agencies to determine whether possession of stolen property charges will come from Fairfield or the community where the item was stolen. Possession charges related to the items seized from Fairfield are at least a month away, according to Granata. Among the stolen property seized in Fairfield were eight firearms, but Granata said they can’t release details about the other items at this time.

"There are a slew of towns that are involved and a slew of victims from those towns," Granata said.

Several additional items were found and seized as a result of executed search warrants to the vehicle Ryan was driving and within his home.

Burglaries involving Ryan are dated back to August 2020 through January 2021 and he committed the crimes in the early morning hours between midnight and 7 a.m., police said.

According to authorities, Ryan is currently on probation in Connecticut for similar crimes.

Several New Jersey authorities charged Ryan with 74 counts of burglary to a motor vehicle, 13 counts of criminal mischief, 51 counts of theft of movable property, seven counts of theft of a credit card, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and one count of burglary while in possession of a firearm.

Numerous agencies over the tri-state area assisted in the multi-jurisdictional investigation over the past six months including:

• Franklin Borough Police Department
• Hardyston Township Police Department
• New Jersey State Police
• Sparta Police Department
• Sussex County Gangs Guns and Narcotics Task Force
• Sussex County Prosecutors Office
• Vernon Police Department
• Rockaway Township Police Department
• Butler Police Department
• Kinnelon Police Department
• Chester Police Department
• Boonton Township Police Department
• Franklin Lakes Police Department
• Warren Township Police Department
• Warwick NY Police Department
• Goshen NY Police Department
• Carmel NY Police Department
• New York State Police
• Chester NY Police Department
• Orange County NY Sheriff's Department
• Fairfield Police Department Conn.
• Connecticut Office of Probation

Several more charges are pending for Ryan in numerous jurisdictions throughout the tri-state area, officials said, noting that Ryan was being held at the Morris County Jail in New Jersey.

This story contains reporting by Anna Bybee-Schier and Russ Crespolini