Christmas Burglary Spree Guilty Plea

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A man who was accused of a burglary spree around Westchester admitted his guilt in court.

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said German Martinez, 42, pleaded guilty to the spree which began the day after Christmas 2019 and into the first week of the new year.

Martinez pleaded guilty to the following:

• Two counts of first-degree burglary, felonies
• First-degree robbery, a felony
• Six counts of second-degree burglary, felonies

Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 28. In addition to 10 years in prison, he will receive a judgment and order for restitution for the items he stole from victims' homes.

According to prosecutors, Martinez broke into a number of Westchester homes in a burglary spree from Dec. 26 through Jan. 4, where he stole property and/or threatened or injured people.

Stolen property included cash, jewelry, laptop computers and other items. In come cases, he broke a window to gain entry or forced his way in using a crowbar. During one burglary, Martinez threatened a victim with a knife, and in another he injured a victim.

Police said he hired taxis unwitting drivers to take him to the locations and told them to wait for him to return. Through tracking license plate readers in the vicinity of the burglaries, police interviewed one of the cabbies who was able to give police the defendant's phone number. From there, the case came together and was arrested in Yonkers Jan. 7.

The investigation into this series of burglaries was a collaboration of local police departments including Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, Yonkers, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Rye, Westchester County Police and the District Attorney’s Criminal Investigators and Investigations Division Pattern Burglary Unit.