Three Little Falls men have been arrested for breaking into Little Falls Middle/High School this past weekend.
Andrew G. Hammersmith, 19, of 53 Furnace St., was arrested on Sunday, while Jeremy Lee Condon, 19, of 69 Furnace St., and Tommy L. Dodson, 23, of 8 W. Main St., were arrested on Monday. None of the three males were current students in the Little Falls City School District.
All three were charged with one count of third-degree burglary and one count of third-degree criminal mischief.
Hammersmith was arraigned before Judge Gerald Thompson in Manheim Town Court and was remanded to the Herkimer County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2,500 cash bail or $5,000 bail bond. Condon and Dodson were arraigned before Judge Charles Oldick in Little Falls Town Court. Condon was remanded to the county jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bail bond, while Dodson was given a pre-trial release to appear in court at a later date. Condon is currently on parole for unrelated matters and faces action by the New York State Division of Parole.
According to Chief of Police Michael Masi, the Little Falls Police Department responded to a report of an alarm activation at the school at around 2 a.m. Saturday. “Upon arrival officers found that someone had forced entry through a door located on the north side of the building,” said Masi. “Officers, along with a school maintenance employee, searched the building but were unable to locate anyone.”
With the assistance of school staff, the school surveillance system was reviewed and it was determined that three males broke into the school. It was also determined that the males were in the school when the police officers searched the building, but left as they conducted the search.
“In addition to breaking into the school, the three also forced entry to a classroom but nothing was reported as being missing,” said Masi.
The chief said that the investigation revealed that Condon, Dodson and Hammersmith had walked to the school and broke in with the intent of stealing money or property. He said that when they entered the school they did not believe the alarm system would be activated on the weekend.
“Police arrived on scene within two minutes of receiving the call and their presence clearly disrupted the intentions of the suspects,” said Masi.
The chief said that the timely apprehension of the three subjects was a direct result of the assistance from school personnel, and the use of cameras in place at the school. He said that although physical evidence was secured at the scene, the suspects were able to be identified in a timely manner due to the availability of video footage.
“This is the classic case of everything working as it is intended to prevent or minimize extensive vandalism or theft,” said Masi. “First, the alarm system worked to notify police; second, the police responded in a timely manner causing the suspects to flee; and third, the cooperative efforts of school staff and the investigative efforts by Sergeant Ronald Petrie resulted in the rapid apprehension of these three people.”
State Parole Officer Richard Matthews assisted in the investigation.