Rosedale man charged with stealing computers from Elmont school, police say

A Rosedale man was charged Sunday with stealing computers from an Elmont school for students with special needs, Nassau County police said.

A school employee watching a surveillance camera spotted Curtis Patterson, 47, of 147-24 229th St., about 3:50 a.m. Sunday inside the Martin De Porres School, at 621 Elmont Rd. The employee called 911, and officers confronted Patterson as he left the school. Police recovered computers from the school that were placed inside black plastic bags, police said.

Patterson was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools and was scheduled to be arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Hempstead.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.