Police say three admit to string of Saratoga County burglaries

PHOTOGRAPHER: David Lombardo

Authorities say three young men with criminal records have admitted to an October crime spree in Saratoga County and involved about $20,000 in cash, $10,000 in property and about 100 vehicle thefts.

The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office announced on Saturday night that they arrested the men suspected of a rash of crimes this month and in Milton, Malta, Greenfield, Wilton and Saratoga Springs. Cars, homes and businesses were broken into.

Police collected evidence from the scenes, talked to witnesses and established a pattern, which contributed to leads in the case. Those leads pointed investigators Timothy Brown and Steven Brown toward 20-year-old Cyrus Oechler, of Ballston Spa, 21-year-old Michael Lester and 18-year-old Tyler Lester, both of Greenfield.

The three men were taken in for questioning and presented with the evidence, which, in conjunction with stolen items allegedly found on their possession, led them to confess to crimes in Malta, Milton, Wilton and Greenfield, officials said. Authorities said they also admitted to a business burglary in Saratoga Springs and about 100 vehicle thefts in the county.

They are charged with multiple felonies, including five counts of burglary, three counts of violent burglary, one count of grand larceny and one count of criminal mischief. Additional charges are forthcoming, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

It is suspected that the crimes amounted to about $20,000 in cash being stolen and $10,000 in property being damaged or stolen. Hardly any of the property has been recovered and almost all of the money has been spent. Police said the stolen cash was used for hotel rooms, drugs, designer clothing and accessories, restaurants, cigarettes, gifts for their girlfriends, electric gadgets and gasoline to commit crimes.

Two business safes were located as the result of the investigation and were fished out of a pond on Locust Grove Road with the help of the Greenfield Fire Department.

All of the defendants have criminal records, with Tyler Lester currently on probation and Michael Lester on parole. Milton Town Justice Thomas Schroeder sent all the defendants to county jail in lieu of bail and are due in court on Tuesday.

The sheriff’s office is coordinating with other law enforcement agencies to connect the men with additional crimes in the area. The Ballston Spa Police Department helped in apprehending one of the suspects.