Pair of Bandit Brothers Arrested for Commercial Burglaries

On July 29, 2015 the New York State Police Uniform patrol at Livingston with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation arrested and charged the Smith brothers of Columbia County for burglary 3rd.

During the first week of July 2015 The New York State Police along with other police agencies in Columbia County began receiving an overwhelming amount of burglary complaints throughout the county.

The burglary spree stretched from Claverack to Greenport and north to Kinderhook.

A joint task force was initiated between the New York State Police BCI, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office CBI and the Hudson Police Department Detectives unit.

On July 29, 2015 SP Kinderhook UF Troopers were on routine patrol in the Town of Ghent when they observed suspicious activity at a local commercial business.  An investigation into the activities resulted in the apprehension of James H. Smith, 44 of Greenport, NY and his brother Lellan W. Smith, 41 of Taghkanic, NY.

The investigation resulted in both brothers being charged with Burglary 3rd degree a class D felony.

Both defendants were arraigned in the Town of Livingston Court in front of the Hon. Robert Q. Moore and remanded to the Columbia County Jail without bail.

Over the course of the month of July Columbia County once again fell victim to a rash of burglaries.  In this instance the thieves were breaking and entering into commercial businesses.  Anyone with information on these burglaries is requested to contact the State Police as this investigation is still on going and developing.

State Police and the Columbia County Sheriff’s office remind residents and business owners to ensure their properties are properly secured, utilize security lighting and consider property alarms for early detection and notification.