Cops: Arrest made in spate of Levittown break-ins

A burglar who roiled a Levittown neighborhood with a spree of daytime break-ins earlier this year is a Hempstead man who rode the public bus to and from his crimes, Nassau County police said Wednesday in announcing his arrest.

The spree put Levittown, a suburban enclave that includes many city cops and firefighters, on edge and led to the founding of a neighborhood watch.

Although Nassau police recovered stolen jewelry, watches, cell phones and laptops, detectives believe the suspect, Juan Orlando Sanchez Frech, 25, of 225 Beverly Rd., already sold most of what he took for a fraction of its worth, said Det. Lt. Raymond Coté of the Third Squad. He said Frech had lost his job as an auto mechanic earlier this year. Police said Frech would ring the doorbell and if no one answered, he would force his way in through the rear.

Frech is awaiting arraignment, but he is unlikely to be granted bail because he is in the United States illegally, authorities said. An accomplice is still at large, Coté said.

Frech had been sought by police for almost two months after drunkenly threatening Feb. 9 to kill his then-girlfriend with a silver revolver because she complained he wasn't taking care of their child, police said.

"His jilted girlfriend let my detectives know . . . that he was doing some type of robbery," Coté said. Tuesday, Frech was arrested after his new girlfriend, whom he had been staying with on Beverly Road in Hempstead, reported him to authorities.

Frech was linked to at least 14 burglaries - 12 in Levittown and one each in North Bellmore and North Merrick, between Jan. 16 and March 30, police said. He switched to the North Bellmore/North Merrick area in his final burglaries because his new girlfriend lives near a bus route that ran through different neighborhoods, police said. Charges include 14 counts of burglary, as well as criminal weapon possession, and menacing.

By MATTHEW CHAYES
Posted Thursday, April 2, 2009

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