Officers Joseph Staszak and Joseph O’Reilly were honored as Officers of the Month for the 7th Police District last Thursday as the 7th Police District Advisory Council held its monthly meeting at the Lafayette Redeemer home.
Staszak and O’Reilly captured an alleged serial burglar in Bustleton on Jan. 20 after the suspect left his personal cell phone in the couch of one of his victims. The investigation wasn’t as straightforward as it might seem, however.
The officers went to a home on the 400 block of Kismet Road at about 3:30 p.m. to meet a woman who complained of an earlier burglary there. The victim reported that she was cleaning up her home when she found a cell phone in the cushions of her couch. It didn’t belong to her or anyone she knew.
Using information found on the phone, the officers identified the owner and checked his criminal records, which contained his mug shot and information about his prior arrests for burglary and drug offenses. The officers went to the suspect’s home of record on the 1100 block of Morefield Road and began to survey the area. They spotted the suspect around the corner on the 9900 block of Verree Road and stopped him for questioning.
They asked him if he had lost his cell phone and he confirmed that the phone belonged to him. Staszak and O’Reilly arrested him for burglary and subsequently searched his backpack, which contained a laptop computer, jewelry and other items that had been reported stolen from a different home on the 600 block of Kismet Road. As a result, the suspect was charged with a second burglary. ••
