Crime & Safety

Couple Arrested in Spree of Jewelry Store Thefts

Police say the pair is responsible for incidents in Commack, Huntington, Deer Park and Medford.

Police say that they have found the couple responsible for a string of jewelry store thefts across Suffolk County, including Golden Island Jewelry on Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack and Zales Jewelers at the Tanger Outlets in Deer Park.

Police said that while conducting a routine traffic stop on April 3 at approximately 4:45 p.m., at the corner of Bay Shore Road and Crown Street in Deer Park, First Precinct Police Officer James Knoblach arrested the driver of the vehicle, Kristie Laird, and her passenger, Daniel Cimolonski, for active warrants and drug possession charges.

Further investigation by First Squad detectives revealed that Cimolonski was responsible for four thefts at jewelry stores in various locations throughout Suffolk County, police said. Laird was charged as an accomplice in one of the cases.

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Cimolonski, 32, of South Setauket, was charged with four counts of grand larceny in the third degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest. Laird, 45, of Deer Park, was charged with grand larceny in the third degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Authorities said that the investigation was a coordinated effort by detectives in the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Squads and resulted in charges relating to thefts at the following locations: Tourneau Walt Whitman, Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station; Golden Island Jewelry, Veterans Memorial Highway, Commack; Zales Jewelers, The Arches Circle, Deer Park and Diamond Exchange Jeweler, Route 112, Medford.

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Cimolonski was also charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree for allegedly stealing money from a man at Burger King, located at 335 East Main St. in Bay Shore, .

Police believe that the couple may have committed similar crimes in Nassau County. The Nassau County Police Robbery Squad was notified and is investigating the possibility of additional charges in its jurisdiction, Suffolk County police said.

Cimolonski and Laird will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip at a date and time to be determined.

Detectives are asking anyone with additional information to contact the First Squad at 631-854-8152.


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