A Queens teen was arrested Monday on charges that he illegally entered a synagogue in the Five Towns area and stole a car from the parking lot, Nassau County police said.
Investigators also believe he was also involved in a second synagogue break-in that occurred earlier this year. Daniel Weiss, 16, of 1176 Brunswick Ave., Far Rockaway, was charged with two counts of third-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny.
Police said Weiss obtained the combination to enter the Aish Kodesh Synagogue at 894 Woodmere Blvd. on Sunday and illegally entered the premises. Once he was inside, cops allege he stole two sets of car keys and then went into the parking lot and took a 2011 Honda. The car was later discovered and plainclothes police officers nabbed Weiss in Far Rockaway on Monday, a news release said.
Fourth Squad detectives also learned that Weiss had also broken into another synagogue earlier this year. Investigators said Weiss and 16-year-old Avraham Moseson of 685 Barnard Ave., Woodmere, knocked out an air condition from a window at the Congregation Shaara Emuana in Cedarhurst on Aug. 12, 2012. After removing the air conditioning unit, the two “were captured on security video ransacking the office of the synagogue,” police said. An undisclosed amount of cash was removed from the office before the teens fled the scene, according to police.
Police said officers reviewed the surveillance video from that burglary and were able to “positively identify” the teens. Moseson was arrested on Sept. 16, 2012 and charged with third-degree burglary and unlawful possession of marijuana.
Examiner.com has learned that the two teens attended a summer camp together for “at-risk teens” in 2012. According to a published camp register, the teens attended Camp Extreme, a venture of Project Extreme, a Nassau-based non-profit organization. The organization’s website describes the camp as a “four-week outdoor summer adventure program for teenage boys,” which includes travel to the west coast. It was not clear if the two met at the camp or knew each other prior to the excursions.
Phone calls to the homes of both teens went unanswered on Tuesday. Court records show Moseson is due back in the Adolescent Diversion Part on March 20. Weiss was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on Tuesday.
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