Police catch suspect after homeowner interrupts Fox Meadow Road burglary

On Sunday, May 24, at approximately 11:02 a.m., a Fox Meadow Road resident called Scarsdale police to advise of a burglary in progress at her residence. She said she heard the outside door to her attached sunroom creaking, followed by rustling noises in the sunroom. When she checked on the noises, she first saw a person's shadow through her sheer curtains and shouted "Who's there?" She then saw a male perpetrator who immediately fled on foot. He headed north on Fox Meadow Road toward the Hartsdale train station. Scarsdale patrol units responded to the area within 2 minutes and broadcast a description of the suspect to area police departments. The suspect was described as a thin, dark-skinned man, approximately 6 feet tall, with full hair, wearing khaki shorts, a dark colored shirt and sneakers.

An initial investigation of the Fox Meadow Road house revealed that several exterior storm doors, which are normally closed, had been opened, and a blue tarp that usually leans against one of the doors had been moved. Because interior doors to the house remained locked, it is believed that the suspect only entered the sunroom and the garage. In the garage, a bag of tools was found open, and tools were scattered about. Some tools appeared to be missing, and an unfamiliar screwdriver – old and slightly bent – was lying with the homeowner's tools on the floor. Police noted fresh footprints in the yard.

Several minutes later the Greenburgh Police Department advised that they were detaining a suspect – Bryan Elroy Mitchell, 20 – just over the line in Hartsdale. According to police records, Mitchell has been identified as homeless. According to police, Mitchell had just completed a burglary of a residence in Greenburgh, when the homeowner found him in a closet. When Mitchell ran, the homeowner chased after him on East Hartsdale Avenue. Several pedestrians joined the chase. The civilians caught Mitchell and held him until Greenburgh police arrived. While searching Mitchell, Greenburgh police found a bag containing a large amount of jewelry and a screwdriver.

The homeowner of the Fox Meadow Road house identified the suspect as the same man she saw in her sunroom. She also identified the screwdriver as belonging to her, and police confirmed a screwdriver was missing from the tool set in her garage.

Mitchell was first arrested by the Greenburgh Police Department for the burglary in Greenburgh. Criminal charges of third-degree burglary (illegal entry with intent to commit a crime) and petit larceny were lodged by the Scarsdale Police Department for the Scarsdale burglary. Mitchell was remanded to Westchester County Jail, as police continue their investigation into his possible involvement with other area burglaries.

Stolen

On May 23, a Drake Road woman reported three azalea bushes, worth $150, were ripped out of landscaping beds near the end of her driveway. The woman said she last saw the bushes in place on May 21. Due to the "clean" appearance of the holes left behind, the woman did not believe an animal dug up the bushes.

On May 25, a Bradford Road woman reported a gold ring with a green stone was stolen from the top of the dresser in her bedroom sometime between May 21 and 22. The woman said she regularly employs a housekeeper and a home health aide, and recently, a stair left technician had also been in the house. Police started to follow up, but the woman said she wanted to file the report for documentation purposes only.

Criminal mischief

On May 25, an Evan Court tenant reported a broken sliding glass door at her rental townhouse. The tenant explained she and her daughter were home on May 22, and they heard the sound of shattering glass around 11:30 p.m. that night. However, they did not investigate the noise further. On May 25, the tenant noticed the exterior pane of the double-paned sliding glass door was broken. Police examined the door and did not find any pry marks or signs of attempted criminal entry. Nor did they find any large rocks nearby. Police advised the tenant and landlord of the benefits of using a home security system for protection.

Scam

A Post Road man received approximately nine unwanted calls from May 21 to May 22. An unknown caller told the man he had won two million dollars and requested personal information to process the win. The man told the caller he was not interested; however the caller kept calling back. Police advised the man to inform them if the calls continued.

Sidewalk

A 93-year-old Fox Meadow Road woman tripped on a damaged section of bluestone sidewalk on Harwood Court May 21. She scraped both knees, but she refused medical treatment. Police placed an orange safety cone over the damaged area of the sidewalk and notified the highway department.

Packages

On May 18, a Circle Road resident received an unexpected package and was nervous about opening it. Police helped the resident determine the sender of the package by using address information. The package contained a golden-colored egg filled with confetti and a request to participate in a family event.

An anonymous Good Samaritan found a FedEx package on Post Road and brought it to headquarters May 22. The package was addressed to a Summerfield Road address. Police attempted to contact the intended recipient, but they were not immediately successful.

Garbage

On May 21, a Mamaroneck Road man reported people sometimes throw garbage into his dumpster of recyclables, and then the sanitation department does not pick up the recyclables. Police advised the man to contact the sanitation department for a possible solution.

Skateboarders

On May 22, a custodian from Greenacres School called police about four skateboarding boys who were attempting to remove wood from a school dumpster. When the custodian told them to leave the dumpster alone, the boys allegedly became disrespectful. Police advised the boys to not remove anything from school dumpsters, to not disrupt school property, and to not leave any debris on school grounds. Police told the boys to follow the custodian's instructions because the custodian is in charge of school property.

Lost car

A Christie Place man told police his car had been stolen May 22. Shortly thereafter, the man learned his wife had moved his car without telling him. He found his car, and all was in good order.

Strange noises

A Morris Lane resident reported "noises outside" her house around 1 a.m., May 25. Police investigated the area and found nothing unusual. However, as noted in the police log, "a sprinkler system was on and changing zones at this time."

Doorbell

Someone rang a Penn Boulevard resident's doorbell at 2 a.m., May 25. Police canvassed the area and found nothing unusual. But they increased patrols of the area.

Cab fare

A cab driver dropped a woman off at the corner of Popham and Chase roads at 11 a.m., May 25, and did not get paid. The woman said she did not have any money to pay the fare. She told the driver she would get money from her Spencer Place workplace and return to pay him. When she did not return, the driver called police. Patrol went to the woman's workplace and spoke with her. She said she got money, came outside to pay the driver but was unable to find him. She alleged he "wasn't in the same spot." She paid the driver, and the driver left.

Help

A Nelson Road man brought a semi-automatic rifle to headquarter for destruction May 19.

On May 19, police checked the welfare of a Hampton Road woman after receiving a call from the woman's concerned daughter. The woman said she would contact her daughter.

Cars and roadways, wires

On May 18, an Old Lyme Road resident called police about low hanging telephone wires on the street. The wires were so low that they were putting pressure on part of the resident's roof and causing it to sag. Police advised the resident to contact Verizon.

On May 20, police issued verbal warnings to drivers of illegally parked cars on Fayette Road.

On May 20, police put yellow tape and safety cones around a Con Edison road plate on Harvest Drive.

Police issued a summons to a driver who used Village Hall parking lot as a cut-though May 22. The driver entered the parking lot, did not stop to conduct any business and proceeded through the lot. The summons was issued for "disobeying a traffic control device" because the driver did not follow the instructions communicated by a "No Thru Traffic" sign.

On May 22, a 17-year-old Split Tree Road girl, who was driving a 2014 Mercedes Benz, did not properly yield to a police car on Post Road. Two patrol officers initiated a traffic stop. The car's registration was shown to have been suspended on Jan.23, due to "insurance not in effect." Police removed the plates from the car, issued the girl a summons, and had the car towed to the girl's house.

On May 22, while conducting routine traffic patrol, a license plate reader detected a car with a suspended registration travelling south on Post Road. The registration had been suspended on April 11 for "insurance lapse." Police stopped the car – a 1999 Lexus, driven by an 86-year-old Rye woman. Further investigation revealed the woman's license was also suspended because of "insurance lapse." Police escorted the woman to her daughter-in-law's house on Wayside Lane and advised the daughter-in-law of the situation. Police removed the license plates from the car and issued the woman a summons. They also provided the daughter-in-law with contact information for the SPD older adult advocate.

Police issued a summons to the owner of a parked car that was partially blocking an Autenreith Road driveway May 22.

Police helped the driver of a disabled car arrange for a tow from Popham Road May 22.

Police directed traffic on Post Road while highway workers removed a fallen tree May 22.

Police notified the highway department about a fallen tree branch obstructing Tory Lane May 23. As a precaution, police placed cones and tape around the branch.

Fourteen car accidents were reported in the village this week. One involved a dog being struck on Oxford Road May 21.

Animals

A Cooper Road resident heard "weird animal screaming" outside around 11:45 p.m., May 20. Police investigated the area and saw two coyotes in a Cooper Road backyard. The animals ran off toward Murray Hill Road.

A Forest Lane dog was loose on Eastwoods Lane May 25. Police issued the owner a warning. The owner said an electric fence was being installed later in the week.

Village code

On May 18, police removed illegally posted signs from utility poles on Heathcote and Mamaroneck roads. Police issued summons to the people responsible for posting the signs.

On May 20, police advised a solicitor on Nelson Road about village code concerning permissible hours for soliciting. The solicitor assured police he and his team would abide by village code.

A Ridgecrest East resident complained about loud music coming from a Tompkins Road party at 11:50 p.m., May 23. Police told the host about the complaint, and the music was promptly turned off.

At 7:15 p.m., May 25, a Duck Pond Road resident reported people were making noise outside his house. Police dispersed a woman and her friend who were sitting on a bench near Duck Pond and talking.

Lost and found

A license plate fell off of a delivery truck owned by Zachys Wine and Liquor Store May 21. The store manager reported it for the purpose of requesting a replacement plate.

Fire

Con Edison was informed about a slight gas odor in a Boulevard house May 19.

Water was leaking inside a Horseguard Lane house, and the homeowner asked firefighters to turn off valves to isolate the leak. This was not successful; so firefighters called the water department to turn off the water supply from the street May 19.

Firefighters stood by a disabled vehicle at Popham and Autenreith roads until police arrived May 20.

A Palmer Avenue stove was not lighting properly May 20. Firefighters confirmed gas was not leaking from the stove. Firefighters advised the homeowner to contact an appliance repairperson.

Firefighters used a 6-foot hook to retrieve keys from a storm drain in the parking area of Boniface Circle and Spencer Place May 20.

On May 21, firefighters stood by for Con Edison at the site of a dislodged natural gas curb box valve on Fox Meadow Road. The valve became dislodged by a contractor's front-end loader.

A Cooper Road homeowner reported a sulfur smell inside the house May 24. Firefighters found a battery charger on a car overheating in the garage. The battery was overcharging and off-gassing. Firefighters removed the battery charger from the garage and advised the homeowner to leave doors and windows open for ventilation.

Firefighters shut the water supply to a Brewster Road house to stop a leaking pipe May 24.

This week, firefighters assisted at one car accident in the village. They responded to one false carbon monoxide alarm and 21 false fire alarms caused by device malfunction, cooking smoke, construction dust, dust from a vacuum cleaner and burnt food in a microwave.

This report covering police and fire department activity from May 18 through May 25 was compiled from official information.

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