Police: ‘Prolific burglar’ charged in three break-ins in Stamford
STAMFORD — A local man is already facing burglary charges in five other municipalities has been arrested on charges of breaking into three Stamford businesses back in April, police said.
Daniel Oler, 49, of Stamford, was charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of criminal mischief and two counts of second-degree larceny, police said. He was held on $250,000 court appearance bond.
“Oler is a prolific burglar that has arrests that span the last few decades,” Bureau of Criminal Investigations Lt. Tom Scanlon said. “Sgts. Chris Felmen-Merced and Sean Scanlan did a great job piecing together various elements of circumstantial evidence to build a solid case. Without question, had Oler not been apprehended, he would have continued targeting Stamford businesses.”
Oler was taken from the Bridgeport Correctional Center, where he was held on charges in a Fairfield burglary, for arraignment Wednesday at the Stamford courthouse. He was unable to be reached for comment because he remained in custody.
According to his six-page arrest affidavit, Oler was charged with early morning break-ins at Outpost Pizza at 365 West Ave.; Bellsimons Cos. at 20 Victory St.; and Samela Barbershop at 28 Grenhart Road that occurred on April 28 and April 30.
All three break-ins showed a “distinct and skillful” way of gaining entry to the buildings by removing the deadbolt locks without leaving any major pry marks, police said. At two of the three businesses, the cash drawers were removed from their cash registers, police said.
Due to the modus operandi, and by gathering information from surrounding towns, including Greenwich, that experienced similar burglaries, investigators developed Oler as a suspect, the affidavit said. At the time, Oler was staying at the Super 8 Motel on Grenhart Road.
After Oler was developed as a suspect in the Greenwich burglary, officers watched videos of his comings and goings from the hotel, and a search warrant was obtained for his room, police said.
In the room, police found several tools used to “spin” and remove deadbolt locks, which gave them enough evidence to obtain a warrant for his arrest.
Over the past months, Oler has been arrested in burglaries in Enfield and Fairfield, the affidavit said. Besides those cases, Oler has pending burglary cases in Hamden, Norwalk and Naugatuck, according to his court files.
The police departments in Greenwich, Hamden, Windsor, Guilford and Enfield are also in the process of applying for arrest warrants seeking to charge Oler with burglaries in their towns, the affidavit said.