NEW WINDSOR – Police in New Windsor arrested a Newburgh man on Tuesday after being alerted that he had been seen rummaging through a parked car on Continental Drive at 3:30 a.m.
The man had run off after realizing the owner of the car may have seen him. Officer Christopher Deets located the man running through a nearby yard on Cannon Drive attempting to flee the area. After a foot pursuit, Officer Deets was able to arrest the man, later identified Gustavo Rosa, 30, as and recover much of the property that had been stolen, including keys to a car that he had stolen just hours before. The man was also found to be wearing a jacket that he had stolen the night before from a car on Canterbury Lane. Officers were able to locate the stolen vehicle nearby and recover it for the owner.
Further investigation linked Rosa to at least 10 additional thefts from vehicles that occurred during the overnight hours from October 31 to November 2 on the following streets in New Windsor: Rt 9W, Forge Hill Road, Sloop Hill Road, Canterbury Lane, Continental Drive, and Provost Drive. Additionally, he was identified as the perpetrator in similar incidents that occurred on Daniher Avenue during the overnight hours of October 10, 2020, and on Lafayette Drive during the overnight hours of August 1.
Rosa was charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, as felonies.
He was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail because he qualifies as a persistent felony offender. More criminal charges are expected to be lodged against Rosa as additional incidents are investigated, police said.
All of the vehicles involved, including the car that was stolen, had been left unlocked by their owners. Additionally, the car that was stolen had its keys in it at the time of the crime. The police department is asking for the public’s assistance in helping prevent these types of crimes from occurring by locking your car and by removing any valuables from inside it.
Anyone with additional information regarding these crimes can contact Detective John Vasta of the New Windsor Police Department at (845)563-4680.
