Hicksville man charged in burglary spree, Nassau police say

A Hicksville man has been arrested and charged in connection with a burglary spree that began in April and targeted businesses in East Garden City, Westbury, East Meadow, North Bellmore and Carle Place — with two businesses hit twice, Nassau County police said.

Police said Scott Gilmor, 45, was arrested at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday in Hempstead following "an extensive investigation." He was charged with seven counts of third-degree burglary, two counts of third-degree criminal mischief and six counts of possession of burglar's tools.

Gilmor was held on bail of $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash at his arraignment Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead and was represented by Legal Aid, which does not comment on cases. 

Police said the spree began with the burglary of Unicorn Graphics at 971 Stewart Ave. in East Garden City, at 12:30 a.m. on April 16, which Gilmor burglarized again on Sunday at 3:24 a.m.

"This first time actually was more like a funny story," Unicorn Graphics manager Jason Lee said Wednesday. "We have video surveillance and he was in here like three or four hours, just wandering around, like he was lounging at home. He went into our refrigerator. He was smoking cigarettes. He drank my beer. … The video shows him just having a good time."

Lee said that after the first break-in, when it is alleged Gilmor stole a lock box containing petty cash, Unicorn beefed up its surveillance system — and even installed a new door and locks.

"The door was brand new," he said, "and this guy spent like 30 minutes going at it with a crowbar until he finally got it open. That time around he knew exactly where to go and he went straight for the lock box, took it — and left."

Lee said detectives reviewed all the security footage, which included an identifiable vehicle license plate number. Police have not said what finally led detectives to identify and arrest Gilmor, but did tell Newsday: "An unknown amount of cash — U.S. currency — and cigarettes were mostly what was taken" during the string of burglaries.

"My insurance broker was like, it might not even be worth it to file a claim," Lee said.

In addition to the burglaries at Unicorn Graphics, Gilmor was charged with burglarizing a uniform store, Yay Scrubs, at 451 Old Country Rd. in Westbury, at 3:30 a.m. on May 2 and Friday at 6:49 a.m., police said. Police said Gilmor also broke into the Convenience and Smoke Shop at 2125 Hempstead Tpke. in East Meadow at 4:23 a.m. Saturday, the Road Ready Auto Repair Shop at 2786 North Jerusalem Rd. in North Bellmore at 3:12 a.m. on Monday, and the Raceway Deli at 548 Westbury Ave. in Carle Place at 2 a.m. on Tuesday.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”