Cops: Arrest made in church break-ins

Police say he attempted to break into one church, then broke into and stole money from another.

Now a Patchogue man has been charged in connection with both incidents, which occurred less than 40 minutes apart in Hicksville in late December, police said.

Nassau County police said Luke Wigutow, 27, was arrested following a lengthy investigation by Second Squad detectives and now faces arraignment Tuesday in First District Court in Hempstead. He is charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree attempted burglary, second- and third-degree criminal mischief and petit larceny.

It was not immediately clear if Wigutow is represented by counsel.

Police said the charges come after Wigutow was "observed" on surveillance exiting a BMW X5 in the parking lot of St. Ignatius Loyola Roman Catholic Church at 129 Broadway in Hicksville at about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 28. Wigutow "pried open" the locked exterior doors to the church, police said, then used a screwdriver and a pry bar in an effort to open a set of interior doors — but, police said, "was unsuccessful in entering the main structure of the building."

Police said Wigutow caused $30,000 worth of damage to the doors.

The investigation showed that less than 40 minutes later, at 12:08 a.m. Dec. 29, Wigutow broke into the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church parish center on Fordham Avenue and stole two cash boxes containing what police called "an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency."

The two churches are located about 1½ miles apart.

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.”