Blue Point Man Charged In Purse Snatchings At Horse Farms

A Blue Point man is facing multiple felonies after authorities said he stole purses from vehicles parked at horse farms across Suffolk County, including several in Southampton Town over the past two weeks, as part of a crime spree that they say dates back to the summer of 2013.Andre Berube, 37, was arrested by Suffolk County Police near the intersection of Sunrise Highway and Route 112 in East Patchogue on Friday and charged with six counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony, and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor. Mr. Berube is expected to be charged by Southampton Town Police with seven counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony, later this week for crimes that police say he committed within the municipality since 2014.He was arraigned Sunday at 1st District Court in Central Islip and is currently being held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or a $30,000 bond. He was scheduled to return to court on Wednesday.According to Southampton Town Detective Sergeant Lisa Costa, both town and county detectives believe that Mr. Berube stole purses from vehicles parked at horse farms and stables on multiple occasions in 2014, mostly in Manorville, and was at it again last week, when five cars were targeted at four farms in Southampton Town.On Friday, a woman called Town Police after someone stole her purse from her unlocked car at the Wölffer Estate Stables in Sagaponack. Two days earlier, purses were reportedly stolen from two cars at the Laurel Crown Farm on Lewis Road in East Quogue.Det. Sgt. Costa said an employee of Laurel Crown saw a man acting oddly near the cars that afternoon and provided authorities with his license plate number the next morning when she realized that her wallet also had been stolen from her vehicle.Town Police alerted Suffolk County Police of the recent thefts, and detectives with Suffolk County’s 7th Squad later realized that a similar theft pattern was reported at other horse farms within their jurisdiction last year, mostly in nearby Manorville. Det. Sgt. Costa said that when the employee from the East Quogue horse farm notified police, town and county officers began actively searching for Mr. Berube’s vehicle, with county officers eventually tracking him down in East Patchogue.Locally, several victims reported that their purses were stolen from their vehicles on Sunday, February 22, from unlocked cars parked at horse farms in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack. In the first case, a woman said someone entered her unlocked vehicle while it was parked at Toppings Riding Club in Sagaponack and stole her $3,000 Balenciaga bag that contained two pairs of sunglasses worth $1,000 combined, a Valextra wallet worth $800, her car and house keys, and a $300 iPhone 5. Less than an hour later, a woman contacted police after her backpack containing a $60 Vera Bradley wallet, $200 wedding band and assorted credits cards was removed from her unlocked car while it was parked at the Rose Hill Farm on Scuttlehole Road in Bridgehampton.Afterward, authorities said Mr. Berube unsuccessfully tried to use the victims’ credit cards to purchase items from several stores, including the P.C. Richard and Sons in Southampton, Dick’s Sporting Goods in Patchogue, and an unidentified store in Water Mill.Det. Sgt. Costa said detectives also think that Mr. Berube stole bags from two vehicles in Southampton Town in June 2014, which is why he will be facing seven counts of felony larceny.Meanwhile, Suffolk Police charged Mr. Berube in conjunction with six thefts on five different occasions that occurred between June 2013 and Tuesday, February 24. In all of the instances, pocketbooks and wallets were taken from vehicles parked at horse farms, but police would not disclose additional information about what was taken.On February 24, a car was broken into at Hidden Pond Stables on North Street in Manorville. A week earlier, on February 17, a bag was stolen from a car parked at an unidentified farm on Dayton Avenue in Manorville.In August, three cars were broken into at different horse farms in Manorville. On August 17, two victims said their purses were stolen from their cars while they were parked at Dream Come True Farm on Eastport Manor Road. On August 8, a bag was taken from a car parked at Green Rose Farm on Dayton Avenue, according to authorities. And on June 30, 2013, a pocketbook was stolen from a car at the Island Hill Stables and Equestrian Center in Middle Island.