Medford man indicted for East End art thefts

A Medford man who police said went  on a burglary spree over the winter and made off with more than a half-million dollars in art stolen from  homes in Southold, Shelter Island, Southampton and East Hampton  is to be arraigned  in County Court in Riverside Friday on a felony burglary charge, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s office.

Southold Town police arrested Angel Palencia of North Dunton Avenue, Medford, on April 6 and charged him with second-degree burglary, a class C violent felony. He’s accused of  stealing paintings and other valuables from an unoccupied home on Soundview Avenue in Southold.

According to the district attorney, Palencia, 24, is now a suspect in the theft of at least 40 paintings, lithographs and other valuables  from five other unoccupied homes on Shelter Island and the South Fork in January and February. The investigation is continuing, said  DA  Thomas Spota.

Palencia’s indictment is to be unsealed by Suffolk County Court Judge Stephen Braslow.