Police Blotter: Arrest Made After Six-Hour Chase and Two-Month Investigation

Bronxville

Special: August 16

Bronxville Police arrested 20-year-old Mount Vernon resident Osei Austin on August 16, in conjunction with a two-month long investigation involving a number of neighboring police departments, Westchester County Police and New York City Police.

On June 27, Bronxville Police received a call from a Homesdale Road resident that his neighbor’s house was being broken into. Responding officers discovered that a ground floor window to the house had been forcibly entered. Contact was made with the suspect two blocks away, although he was able to run away and elude pursuing officers. After a six-hour search involving Eastchester, Mount Vernon and County Police – as well as dog units – turned up empty, efforts to find the suspect were called off.

During the chase, it was discovered that the suspect had dropped a backpack, which officers picked up and turned over to Bronxville detectives. Inside the bag was discovered a Metro Card, which in the following days was analyzed by New York City Police and the DA Intel Center. The card revealed that the suspect had taken the number 40 bus from Mount Vernon to White Plains on several occasions.

After consulting with the Department of Transportation, who reviewed security tapes from buses on that line, a photo of the suspect was obtained and distributed to local police departments and high schools. A Mount Vernon High School employee later identified Austin as the suspect, leading to his arrest Tuesday morning and ending a two-month search. 

Austin was charged with second-degree burglary. Upon entering his house earlier this week, police officers found evidence linking him to the June 27 Bronxville incident. Austin has several other felony charges on his record, including a third-degree robbery in Mount Vernon and two attempted burglaries in Queens in 2008. Austin was on parole at the time of his arrest, and is now being held in County jail.

Eastchester

August 11

Eastchester Police received a call from a Vernon Drive resident around 9 a.m. after the victim woke up to find that his 2010 white Lexus was missing from his driveway. After further investigation, it was determined that the vehicle was stolen sometime during the night of the August 10. No suspects have been identified and the vehicle is still missing. 

August 14 

Eastchester Police responded to a call around 3:30 p.m. at 696 White Plains Road, where a woman reported that damage had been done to her car while she was inside the nearby New York Sports Club. Police officers arrived at the scene to discover that the driver and passenger side windows of the victim’s 2004 Acura had been smashed out. According to the victim the incident occurred sometime between 1:00 p.m. and 3:25 p.m. No items were taken from the car. A report was taken for insurance purposes.

August 14

Eastchester Police received a call at 2:36 a.m. reporting an accident on White Plains Road near Fisher Ave. The responding officers discovered that a vehicle with major damage had driven onto the sidewalk and struck a utility pole. The driver, 25-year-old Hopewell Junction resident Ryan Morris, who told Eastchester Police he was driving home, suffered a severe laceration to his tongue during the accident, and was later transported by EVAC to White Plains Medical Center. During the ambulance assist, police officers detected a strong odor of alcohol on Morris, and noticed that he was slurring his speech. Upon questioning, Morris admitted to having been drinking. While at the hospital, Morris was informed that he was being charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, as well as first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a felony. Morris’ tongue injury later required surgery.

August 15

Eastchester Police were alerted to a shoplifting attempt around 4 p.m. at the Lord & Taylor on 750 White Plains Road. After meeting with store security, police officers arrested a female suspect who had attempted to steal $877.95 worth of goods, charging her with petite larceny and possession of burglary tools, both A misdemeanors. 

Note: This is only a sampling of the incidents reported and does not represent all activity of the Eastchester and Bronxville Police Departments.