Top Cops: Third Precinct officers cited for burglary arrest

For locating a burglar with a felony history, Suffolk County Officers Brendan Costello and Thomas McDonald were named the Third Precinct's Cops of the Month.

Costello and McDonald were canvassing a Brentwood neighborhood during a regular shift in July 2008, after a call came into the police about an attempted burglary. The caller, a woman, called to say she saw a man outside her home, according to Costello.

While investigating, they came upon a man who was acting suspiciously, including dropping a bag he was carrying when he saw the officers.

After talking with the man, who appeared nervous, Costello felt through the bag. "I felt what I believed to be a handgun in the bag," Costello said.

The officers also found clothing, later determined to be the same as was worn in another burglary. It also had drug paraphernalia in the bag. The subject was immediately placed under arrest.

Costello and McDonald noted while looking at crime data before the shift that a robbery had taken place outside the Third Precinct with a suspect that matched the man's description.

While the suspect was not involved in the attempted burglary, he was charged in the earlier burglary that took place in the Fourth Precinct.

At a lengthy trial, police said, the suspect was found guilty of second-degree robbery for that crime. As a repeat felon, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.