Crime & Safety
Man Charged With 87 Home Burglaries Across Philly Region: DA
A man has been charged with 87 home burglaries across the Philly region, many of them while residents were home, the DA said.
A Philadelphia man has been arrested and charged with 89 burglaries throughout the region over a period of about one year, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
Larry Rafiq Samuels, 38, allegedly committed the crimes between Aug. 31, 2014 and July 3, 2015, the DA said.
A total of 66 burglaries took place overnight with residents present in the home, officials said. Of the 89 incidents Samuels is being charged in, 87 of them took place at a residence. Two were at commercial locations.
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Additionally, Samuels is also facing charges related to three overnight burglaries and one attempted burglary on July 19, 2015, in Cheltenham, which are part of the same crime spree, according to the DA.
Items taken in the spree include money, cell phones, Apple devices and purses, the DA said.
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The burglaries, which took place in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties, led to a total financial loss of more than $200,000, according to authorities.
Cheltenham police officers investigating the crimes broke through when they found surveillance footage of Samuels at one of the homes he had allegedly burglarized, the DA said.
Authorities noted too that the burglaries followed a pattern: they occurred very near SEPTA regional rail stops; money and small electronics were the most commonly stolen items; and items unwanted by the burglar were left strewn in yards on the way to the next home, the DA said.
The burglar would also sometimes take food and drinks from the homes he robbed.
Police departments which participated in the cross-county investigation included Cheltenham Township, Abington Township, Upper Dublin Township, Jenkintown Borough, Lansdale Borough, Lower Merion Township, Whitemarsh Township, Lower Gwynedd Township, Hatfield Township, Springfield Township, Radnor Township, Nether Providence Township, Philadelphia, Doylestown Township, Tredyffrin Township and Easttown Township. In addition, the Pennsylvania State Police—Media Station assisted.
A formal arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 31.
Image courtesy Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
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