Crimes Nearby: Cops Say 'Serial Burglar' Caught on South Fork

The following information was supplied by the East End police departments and Southampton Town fire marshal's office. A criminal charge is only an accusation and does not indicate guilt.

EAST HAMPTON

• Facing multiple burglary charges and serious jail time, Springs resident Justin T. Bennett told the court on Friday he's ready to get clean. 

Bennett, who is being held on $100,000 cash bail in connection to a multi-jurisdictional investigation into burglaries on the South Fork, is an addict who turned to break-ins to raise money for his heroin fix, according to a statement he gave East Hampton Town police after his arrest on Thursday. 

Police, who called him a "serial burglar," charged him with 16 burglaries in East Hampton that resulted in the loss of more than $126,000 in jewelry, cash and prescription medications being stolen, they said. More charges are expected in other jurisdictions and a grand jury indictment is expected. 

• A judge ordered an East Hampton man accused of transmitting child pornography held without bail after his arraignment late Wednesday, according to Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office. 

Michael S. Bonnet, 28, a registered sex offender who was still serving probation, was arrested on a complaint filed in federal court and is facing 15 years in prison if convicted, Nardoza said. A grand jury indictment, expected in the future, will determine specific charges, he said.

According to the complaint filed Tuesday, Bonnet used the alias of "Bob Jones" to send images over email involving the use minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

SOUTHAMPTON

The fire that destroyed the Shinnecock Indian Nation's gaming authority trailer is being investigated as an arson, the Southampton Town Fire Marshal's office said on Thursday morning. 

Fire Marshal Chris Hansen said the fire was determined as suspicious after it was discovered that the blaze on Wednesday started on the outside of the trailer, which is near the community center on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton. 

The Suffolk County Police Department's arson squad was called into assist with the investigation. 

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS 

• A "serial copper thief," who Southampton Town police detectives said they caught in the act at a Remsenburg house on Monday afternoon, may be responsible for a string of thefts over the past six months.

Detectives arrested Jonathan Hodgdon, a 21-year-old from Mastic, at about 1:45 p.m., after they said they saw him cutting and stealing copper piping from the outside of a house on Old Mill Lane.

The arrest comes after an investigation, involving the Westhampton and Quogue Village police departments, into similar copper larcenies in the western part of the township between April and October.

• Marvin Jennings, 49, of Blue Point, was arrested in Hampton Bays on Oct. 26 on attempted robbery and drug charges. According to police, Jennings approached a man in front of the 7-Eleven on Montauk Highway at around 8:30 a.m. claiming he had a gun and demanding money. Jennings was unsuccessful in obtaining any money and fled. He was later located and arrested. He is being charged with first-degree attempted robbery, a felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh-degree, a misdemeanor.

NORTH FORK

• A masked bank robber was caught red-handed in Greenport on Halloween Thursday, police said. According to Southold Town police, the arrest took place at 4:10 p.m., after authorities received a report of an active robbery at Capital One Bank in Greenport.

Witnesses described the suspect as a black man, wearing a mask, with a multi-colored hat that had fake dread-locks attached to it, and a black and gray jacket.

A K-9 unit responded and tracked the suspect  to a house on Second Street, where Brian Edwards, 45, of Greenport, as well as the clothing and the proceeds of the robbery, were located, police said.

Edwards was arrested and charged with robbery in the third degree, a felony, and criminal trespass in the second degree, a misdemeanor.