Police probe thefts from vehicles, including a sheriff’s deputy’s car

The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and police in several jurisdictions in and outside of Ulster County are participating in a largescale investigation into vehicle thefts and vehicle break-ins, sheriff’s Lt. Joseph Sciutto said Thursday, Dec. 1.

During the overnight hours of Wednesday, Oct. 26, into Thursday, Oct. 27, multiple larcenies from vehicles were reported to police agencies in the towns of Wawarsing, Rochester and Shawangunk, Sciutto said in an email Thursday. Further investigation determined the thefts are also linked to additional thefts, including the theft of vehicles themselves, in the towns of Rosendale and New Paltz, he said.

One of those thefts was from a vehicle belonging to the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office that was parked, with permission, at the home of First Sgt. Christopher Lutz. Lutz was suspended for 30 days without pay as a result, Sciutto said.

Sciutto declined to say what was stolen from Lutz’s vehicle and why he was penalized if he was permitted to take the vehicle to his home. In accordance with Sheriff’s Office policy, Lutz’s address was not provided.

An investigation linked these Ulster County breakins to additional larcenies, including the larceny of vehicles themselves, in Rosendale, New Paltz, and other municipalities outside of Ulster County and New York state, Sciutto said.

The Sheriff’s Office did not say whether the vehicles involved had been locked or if keys were left inside.

“This agency, along with not less than five other police agencies inside and outside the state of New York, are coordinating the investigation to these related crimes and events,” Sciutto said. He continued, “As this is an open, ongoing, intricate and large-scale criminal investigation, releasing (any) specific level of detailed information is not appropriate at this time.”