Rash of car break-ins puts East Patchogue neighbors on edge

Neighbors in an East Patchogue community are on edge after they woke up Saturday to discover a rash of car break-ins.
Residents on Hewlett Street say several cars were broken into around 6 a.m., with property stolen. They say a Ring surveillance alert had notified a neighbor, who called police and warned residents to check their cars and their own surveillance systems.
The Verity family shared surveillance video with News 12 that shows the apparent suspect lurking near their cars. Another clip appears to show that he walked up to their front door while trying to evade police by pretending to live there.
"If the door was unlocked he probably would have been in my living room," says Jackie Verity.
"He almost looked like Santa Claus. He had a bag and bags of things that he had stolen from everybody's cars in the neighborhood," says neighbor Juan Colon.
Police confirmed that at least three cars were broken into and that a laptop and a wallet with credit cards were stolen from inside one resident's car.
Suffolk police say they have arrested a homeless man, identified as 34-year-old Walter Miller. At this time, he has been charged with one count of grand larceny in the fourth degree.