Valley Cottage Man Indicted in String of Home Burglaries

A Valley Cottage man previously convicted of manslaughter and burglary, whose movements were tracked by Clarkstown police using a GPS device placed on his car, has been indicted by a Rockland County grand jury in connection with a string of burglaries in Clarkstown and Orangetown.

Rockland District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe said today that Eric Flores, 42, of 796 Brookridge Drive, Valley Cottage, was arrested by Clarkstown police immediately after a break in at a home in Tappan in August. Zugibe said Flores is linked to six other home invasion burglaries throughout Clarkstown and police have been able to recover some of the personal property believed to have been stolen by Flores.

Flores has been indicted on seven counts of second-degree burglary, a felony.

Zugibe said Clarkstown police discovered that several burglaries in the town in mid-June appeared to be related. Zugibe said that as part of their investigation, Clarkstown detectives, with the assistance of the Rockland County District Attorney's Office, obtained a court order authorizing a GPS tracking device to be placed on the Flores' car.

Police said Flores' silver Mercedes-Benz matched the description of a car spotted in the neighborhoods affected by the string of burglaries.

While tracking Flores on Aug. 25, Zugibe said Clarkstown police officers saw Flores running toward his car with a bag. Flores was arrested after a brief chase, which ended when his car struck a parked car. Zugibe said Flores was found to be in possession of stolen property from a home invasion burglary on Flitt Street in Tappan, which he is accused of committing moments before his arrest.

Flores is scheduled to be arraigned today in Rockland County Court in New City by Judge William K. Nelson. Flores is being held in the Rockland County Correctional Center in New City.

Zugibe said that if Flores found guilty of the burglaries and is convicted as a persistent violent felon, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.