Crime & Safety
Monthly Crime Report: Parole Sweep Puts Babylon Felon Back in Jail
A convicted drug dealer spent just one week in Babylon after a police search revealed he was violating parole conditions.
The top crime trends in the First Precinct during January continued to be home burglaries, with burglars looking for copper pipe in vacant homes, and on-the-street robberies in which assailants steal valuable mobile devices such as smartphones and iPods, according to the monthly police report.
There were also several cases in which urns at cemeteries were stolen, though the theft of man cover holes has ebbed a bit, say police. Both crimes are typically the work of drug users looking for quick cash, police said during February’s community police meeting held Thursday night.
In leading the meeting First Precinct Inspector Gerard Gigante also offered up insight on the differences between a burglary and a robbery and provided specific crime stats for the month of January.
Find out what's happening in Babylon Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A robbery is defined as an incident in which a criminal takes property from a victim in a confrontational manner with or without the use of a weapon. A burglary is an incident in which a person breaks into a residence or business with the intent to commit a crime such as stealing property. The criminal degree of a burglary depends on whether a weapon and confrontation takes place and is considered a felony charge.
Gigante led off the meeting with the usual ‘notable arrest’ item. This month’s featured actor Tim Allen who was arrested in 1978 for selling drugs to an undercover officer and spent two years in jail for his crime
Find out what's happening in Babylon Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
There were 22 total robberies in the precinct this month, most of which were what police call strong-arm incidents. In that situation a robber use a weapon, or the threat of a weapon, to steal property. Right now cell phones and iPods are the hot targets.
ROBBERIES
Babylon 1
Lindenhurst 4
West Babylon 4
North Lindenhurst 0
Stolen Vehicles
15 total in the precinct area for the month.
Babylon 0
West Babylon 1
Lindenhurst 0
North Lindenhurst 0
Burglaries
Babylon 0
Lindenhurst 0
North Lindenhurst 2 residential
West Babylon 8 residential, 1 commercial burglary
Police closed six burglaries cases during the month.
Shootings
The notable incident of the month was a shooting outside of Maggie’s bar in West Babylon in which a man was shot twice in his left calf. Police say the victim was an older Blood gang member and was not cooperative in providing details of the incident and drove himself to the hospital.
Notable Arrests
On January 31 Suffolk First Precinct officers conducted a parole violation sweep of a newly-arrived convicted felon in Babylon who had taken up residence on Yacht Road.
Robert Geiger, 40, a convicted drug dealer, had moved in just a week prior and was found to be in violation of parole for having cocaine, oxycodone, a loaded .22 caliber handgun and hypothermic needles in his home, according to police.
Car Crashes
There were 559 car accidents during the month of January with 43 injuries and 72 incidents in which drivers left the scene.
DWI
The police made 19 DWI arrests during the month.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.