Teens may be responsible for dozens of burglaries throughout Onondaga County

Syracuse, NY – A group of local teenagers arrested Tuesday for a string of burglaries may be responsible for dozens of other burglaries in Onondaga County over the past few months, deputies said.

Deputies are working with other police departments to potentially charge teenagers in 20 to 30 burglaries in Syracuse, Camillus, DeWitt and North Syracuse, according to Deputy Doug Roser, a spokesman for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.

“We expect many more allegations to come in the next few weeks,” he said.

Eight teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 are accused of breaking into several businesses early Tuesday morning in the northern suburbs. They are accused of breaking front doors or windows and taking cash or tills.

Roser said officers used surveillance footage, data from license plate readers and other information to find the address of one of the teenagers.

They searched the residence later Tuesday and found several teenagers there, he said. Deputies also found two handguns and property stolen in recent burglaries.

Two of the teenagers, both 15, were released on appearance tickets.

Six others were indicted in the Juvenile Division of Onondaga County Court. A judge released three of them on ankle monitors, set bail for the other three and sent them to the Hillbrook Juvenile Detention Center.

Roser said it can be difficult to track down burglary suspects.

In most cases, the perpetrators are gone by the time the police arrive.

“They just do it so fast,” he said. “They smash, grab and go.

Some businesses don’t have security cameras, he said, or the footage may not be good enough to identify suspects. Some thieves also wear masks.

Tracking vehicles used in burglaries can also be a dead end.

These are often stolen Kia or Hyundai cars. Online videos showing how to steal cars in less than a minute have sparked an increase in stolen vehicles in recent years.

Roser said all three vehicles used in Tuesday’s burglaries were reported stolen out of Syracuse and some were Kias. Two of the three vehicles were saved.