Riverhead Man Sentenced After Burglarizing Lowe's: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead man was sentenced to 2.5 to 5 years in prison Wednesday after burglarizing a Lowe's Home Improvement store in 2021, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to an investigation and his own admission during his plea allocution, on Nov. 20, 2021 and Nov. 25, 2021, Terry Smith, 60, of Riverhead, stole several items and burglarized the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store on Old Country Road in Riverhead, Tierney said.

On November 10, 2021, Smith stole numerous home improvement items from the store including hedge trimmers, spray gun kits, and a chainsaw valued in excess of $3,000, Tierney said. Smith was captured on surveillance video exiting the store without paying for the items, with the items in a store shopping cart, the DA said.

Next, on November 25, 2021, Smith returned to the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store and broke in by smashing the sliding glass entry doors with a metal beam, Tierney said. After the glass doors were shattered, Smith entered the location and stole multiple power tools; he quickly escaped but was again caught on surveillance video, the DA said.

Smith was quickly located, identified, and placed under arrest; at the time of his arrest, Smith was wearing the same pants that he was observed wearing in the surveillance video during the burglary on November 25, 2021, Tierney said.

On May 16, Smith pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz to third-degree grand larceny, a felony, and third-degree burglary, a felony, Tierney said.

On Wednesday, Horowitz sentenced Smith, who was represented by John Halverson.

"Retail theft will not be tolerated in Suffolk County," said Tierney. "Suffolk County residents and business owners can rest easy knowing that justice was served for a crime with damaging effects on our quality of life and economy. It is important for the community to know that those caught burglarizing and stealing from businesses, like this defendant, will be held responsible for their actions."