Police arrest suspect in burglaries

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Jeremy Andino
Jeremy Andino

NAUGATUCK — Borough police have charged a Waterbury man in connection with four home burglaries.

Jeremy Andino, 19, of 63 Temple St., Waterbury, is accused of stealing more than $50,000 worth of goods from four homes in the borough during a spree last year that left homeowners with broken windows and trashed houses.

A witness told police that Andino, an unemployed father, would knock on the door of a home, and if there wasn’t an answer, he would break in through the back. A witness also told police that Andino couldn’t hold a steady job and may have been responsible for up to 35 burglaries, according to his arrest warrant.

Andino was charged with multiple burglaries, including a break-in in February 2013 on Walnut Street. A 50-inch TV and thousands of baseball and basketball cards were swiped. The stolen goods, which included a rookie card of Yankees player Derek Jeter, were valued at $11,156.

An Xbox and video games, jewelry, 20 pairs of sneakers and two suitcases were stolen from a relative’s home on Andrew Avenue in October. A witness told police Andino traded the sneakers for about $3,500 in tattoo work.

Andino is suspected of throwing a large rock through a rear bedroom window of a home on Longview Terrace in November.

During that break-in, jewelry, a Gateway laptop computer, at least $17,000 in savings bonds and an Apple iPod were swiped. The broken glass also marred a newly refinished hardwood floor.

A total of $25,859 in valuables was taken from another home, according to police.

Andino is suspected in yet another theft in the upscale neighborhood of Graham Ridge Road in December. Police believe he stole jewelry, an Apple iPod Touch and an Apple iMac valued at $11,916.

Witnesses helped detectives identify Andino and police recovered valuables that had been stolen from the homes.

Andino met with investigators in March, telling them another man had offered him the savings bonds stolen from the Longview Terrace home. While police were with Andino, he talked on the phone with a man who was purportedly the person who tried to unload the stolen goods. Police thought the conversation sounded scripted and wasn’t believable.

A witness told police Andino had an accomplice call police on a cell phone, but used a special program that changed the phone’s ID so it would display the number of the man that Andino was trying to pin the crime on.

Detectives recovered some of the stolen items at a home on Cherry Street, including jewelry and documents, which were linked to two of the break-ins.

Waterbury police also charged Andino in connection with an alleged incident involving his 19-year-old girlfriend in March. She told police Andino choked her after putting her in a headlock while they were together at a family member’s home.

Andino was charged with first-degree burglary, three counts of third-degree burglary, four counts of varying degrees of larceny, making a false statement and three counts of criminal trespass.

He was held on bonds totaling more than $300,000 after he was arraigned in Waterbury Superior Court.