Cops: Long Beach serial burglar arrested

Long Beach police say they've arrested a serial burglar whose DNA matched genetic material left behind at break-ins on the city's West End.

The suspect, Joseph Moss, who was arraigned and ordered jailed without bail Thursday afternoon, was connected to three burglaries in a spree that started in early September, said Deputy Inspector Bruce Meyer, the Long Beach police spokesman.

Meyer would not say what material the burglar left behind that detectives used to link Moss, 40, to the burglaries.

In the burglaries, the thief would typically get into the homes by using an unlocked door or by pushing air conditioners, then ransack the premises and make off with cash and jewelry, Long Beach's police commissioner, Thomas R. Sofield Sr., said in a statement.

The DNA hit came last Friday from a state criminal justice database, Meyer said, and detectives searched for Moss in Nassau, Queens, Brooklyn and Pennsylvania, police said. Moss was finally arrested Wednesday in Brooklyn.

Records show that Moss has spent years in state prison on convictions for crimes ranging from burglary to attempted robbery.