A former Glastonbury police officer is suspected of being a “serial burglar” and committing 30 or more burglaries in three states, according to an arrest warrant.
Patrick Hemingway, 37, of Glastonbury, is accused of committing burglaries in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts and targeting safes and cash registers at restaurants, according to an arrest warrant from Connecticut Superior Court.
Hemingway was a Glastonbury police officer from January 2019 until Sept. 1, 2023, when he resigned, according to court documents. Before that, he was a New Britain police officer from August 2009 until joining the Glastonbury police department.
The arrest warrant said he is accused of using lock-picking tools in some of the alleged burglaries and wearing a face mask and gloves.
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The state police Western District Major Crime Squad started assisting the Glastonbury Police Department with the investigation in September.
Investigators identified Hemingway as a suspect through cellphone tower data and surveillance images.
The arrest warrant says the Connecticut burglaries happened in Wethersfield and Shelton, and Glastonbury police are investigating a spree of burglaries in their town between February and June of this year that fit the pattern.
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Video from one of the burglaries also shows the burglar with what appears to be a portable police radio, the arrest warrant says.
The arrest warrant application also says that Hemingway ran his own license plate number through the COLLECT system, which law enforcement uses.
He is accused of running his own Tesla license plate 28 times between Jan. 14, 2021, and Aug. 26, 2023, running his Hyundai registration 28 times between Feb. 26, 2019 and June 26, 2023, and running his wife’s registration for her Jeep 19 times between April 11, 2022 and Aug. 23, 2023.
He also ran his own name through the system five times between Feb. 22, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2022, according to the arrest warrant.
Investigators suspect that a possible explanation for Hemingway running the information so frequently would have been to determine if he was being investigated by police, the arrest warrant says.
Hemingway has been charged with computer crime in the first degree and making a false statement.
Connecticut State Police said they extradited Hemingway from New Jersey where he was being held as a fugitive from justice.
Hemingway's attorney said his client, who had been in the Army, was in New Jersey to attend flight school to become a commercial pilot.
Hemingway remains in custody, according to online court records. Bond was set at $1 million.
He is due in court on Nov. 15.
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