Cops: Burglar who targeted Babylon Town businesses arrested

Suffolk County police have arrested a Copiague man accused of burglarizing 11 businesses in Babylon Town in the past three months, officials said on Saturday.

Anthony Cole, 29, was arrested at the Amityville Long Island Rail Road station shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, according to police.

Cole was spotted walking near 1st Avenue by an Amityville Village police officer, officials said. The officer alerted Suffolk police who swooped in to make the arrest, officials said. fficials did not disclose how the village officer or county police were certain that Cole was the serial burglary suspect.

Cole was charged with 11 counts of third-degree burglary in the string of break-ins in Amityville, Lindenhurst, East Farmingdale and other communities starting in December.

“This is an individual who was victimizing our businesses and this is not going to be tolerated in Suffolk County,” said Police Commissioner Timothy Sini.

Cole’s first burglary was at Brooklyn Fish and Chips on Broadway in Amityville on Dec. 22, officials said. His most recent successful robbery was on March 4 when he struck a Valero gas station on Sunrise Highway, officials said.

They said he also tried to burglarize the Amity Spa and Beauty Salon on Albany Avenue on Friday, but was not successful.

During the crime spree, Cole burglarized an assortment of stores, including a coffee shop, Laundromat, vape store and even a car wash, police said.

In every instance, the suspect threw a hard object through the shop’s front glass window and grabbed cash and cigarettes before taking off, Sini said. In all, Cole caused about $6,000 in damage to the stores and made off with $4,000 in proceeds, Sini said.

Town Supervisor Richard Schaffer said crime was down in most categories except one: commercial burglaries, which rose during Cole’s spree.

“I knew that they were not going to rest until they dealt with that,” Schaffer said.

Cole is also charged with attempted burglary in connection with an attempted break-in at the beauty spa on Friday, police said.

Cole was arraigned on Saturday at First District Court in Central Islip where he was held on $25,000 bond or $10,000 cash, officials said.

Cole, who defended himself in court, is due back on Thursday, according to online court records.

With Jean-Paul Salamanca