Long Beach Man Sentenced for Burglarizing Two Homes

LongIsland.com

DNA evidence from a discarded cigarette butt led to Moss’s arrest.

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Long Beach, NY - February 25, 2014 - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced that a Long Beach man was sentenced today for burglarizing two homes and stealing jewelry in September 2010.
 
Joseph Moss, 43, was convicted by a jury in March 2013 of two counts of Burglary in the Second Degree. Moss was deemed a mandatory persistent violent felony offender because of a pervious burglary conviction andan attempted robbery conviction and sentenced today by Nassau County Court Judge Meryl Berkowitz to 16 years to life in prison.
 
“This defendant’s inability to live within the confines of the law demanded a lengthy prison sentence, and I am glad to know that he will not be able to victimize another innocent person for a very long time,” DA Rice said.
 
DA Rice said that sometime between 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2010 and 1:15 p.m. the following day, Moss broke into a Maryland Avenue home and stole several pieces of Tiffany and heirloom jewelry. Moss left behind a filtered cigarette butt in the kitchen and a black sock by the front door, as well as a set of keys. The stolen jewelry was never recovered.
 
Also on Sept. 22, 2010, Moss broke into a Kentucky Street home and stole multiple pieces of jewelry, including a college ring and a college national championship ring. Moss then sold the rings, which had the victim’s name engraved on them, to a Brooklyn pawn shop. The New York City Police Department, which conducts routine checks of pawn shops, became suspicious when they saw the collegiate rings at the Brooklyn shop two weeks later and contacted the college, which in turn reached out to the victim. The victim then contacted the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD).
 
DNA evidence taken off the cigarette butt and sock from the first burglary and from a collared shirt left behind at the scene of the second burglary matched Moss’s sample in the statewide DNA database. The set of keys left behind matched the address listed as Moss’s Indiana Avenue home. Moss was arrested by LBPD detectives on Oct. 27, 2010 in Brooklyn.
 
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Contreras of DA Rice’s County Court Trial Bureau is prosecuting the case. Moss is represented by Robert Schalk, Esq.