Ex-Cop from Connecticut Is Suspect in String of Burglaries Across 3 States
Glastonbury Police previously stated in a press release that it was “alerted to the possibility that a former Glastonbury police officer was a person of interest” in a “recent burglary investigation”
Getty
A former Connecticut police officer is suspected of committing more than 30 thefts as a “serial burglar” across three states.
According to local news affiliate NBC Connecticut, an arrest warrant unsealed by the Connecticut Superior Court on Thursday reveals that former Glastonbury police officer Patrick Hemingway, 37, is accused of targeting safes and cash registers at restaurants and other businesses in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The Glastonbury Police Department issued a press release on Sept. 20 stating that it was “alerted to the possibility that a former Glastonbury police officer was a person of interest” in a “recent burglary investigation.”
The release also stated that the Glastonbury police “called in Connecticut State Police Major Crimes to assist” given that “the investigation involves multiple jurisdictions.”
The Glastonbury Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
According to CT Insider, the warrant states that the suspect “dressed similarly during numerous burglaries (to include a face mask and gloves) and was consistent in physical appearance with [Hemingway]” during the break-ins that occurred from February through June.
ABC News reported that the arrest warrant includes “cell phone data and images of a vehicle resembling one owned by Hemingway’s wife” that was seen at some of the break-ins.
A surveillance video referenced in the warrant also shows the suspect with “ ‘a coiled, corded object to his left ear’ resembling the police radios used by the Glastonbury Police Department,” per the outlet.
The warrant also stated that “lock-picking tools” were used for some of the burglaries and that Hemingway had allegedly “left behind a bag that included a lock-picking tool kit” following his resignation from the Glastonbury Police Department on Sept. 1, ABC News reported.
Related: Ohio Police Officer Charged with Murder for Shooting Unarmed Black Man in His Bed
"There is overlap of Patrick's employment as a Glastonbury Police Department police officer, the burglaries within that same town and his illegal COLLECT queries," Connecticut State Police Detective Ryan Slaiby wrote in the warrant, per CT Insider.
COLLECT, which stands for Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing, is a dedicated criminal justice system for law enforcement agencies in the state of Connecticut.
The Connecticut State Police extradited and arrested Hemingway on Sept. 28 in New Jersey on grounds of being “a fugitive from justice based upon an active arrest warrant held by the Connecticut State Police” that “stems from multiple alleged misuses” of COLLECT, according to a news release.
Per the release, Hemingway was charged with computer crimes in the first degree and with making a false statement, for which he was held on a $1 million bond and arraigned at Manchester Superior Court on Sept. 29.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
According to Fox News, Hemingway allegedly misused COLLECT 80 times to run queries about his and his wife’s vehicles through the database.
NBC Connecticut reported that Hemingway “is accused of running his own Tesla license plate 28 times between Jan. 14, 2021, and Aug. 26, 2023, running his Hyundai registration 28 times between Feb. 26, 2019, and June 26, 2023, and running his wife’s registration for her Jeep 19 times between April 11, 2022, and Aug. 23, 2023.”
"A possible explanation for Patrick running such information so frequently would have been to determine if he was being investigated by police,” the warrant states, per ABC News.
Per NBC Connecticut, Hemingway is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 15.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
