A Gambian resident in New York faces felony burglary charges after allegedly taking odd assortment of items from homes

An investigation into a burglary in the Village of Alfred led to the arrest of a Gambia, West Africa native.

Alfred Village Police charged Mbemba Tambajang, 22, with two counts of second-degree burglary, both class-C felonies, two counts of petit larceny, class-A misdemeanours, and one count of second-degree criminal trespass.

The charges stem from three incidents of unlawful entry, two taking place on Thursday, May 23 and another on Thursday, May 31, where Tambajang allegedly broke into homes intending to steal items within.

Taken from the homes was a pair of Gucci slippers, two watches, a pair of JBL brand speakers, a roll of toilet paper, and a bottle of Sunny Delight brand citrus drink from the refrigerator of one of the locations.

In the third incident, Tambaqjang is accused of entering a dwelling, but did not make off with any items of property.

Through intensive field work, a break in the case came when witnesses said they saw a suspicious person with a Husky breed puppy walking in the area of the crimes on the dates in question.

Chief Paul Griffith commended investigating Sgt. Dylan Burch for cracking the case.

“He brought this case to a pretty quick resolution,” he said.

When police arrived at Tambajang’s apartment to question him about the incidents on Monday, he allegedly invited police in to see his puppy. What is believed to be many of the stolen items were in plain sight, according to the chief.

“When we went in to talk to him, the stolen shoes were in his living room, the dog was crated in his bedroom. We walked into the bedroom to take a look at the puppy, and there were the speakers and other stolen items,” Griffith detailed.

The Chief said the suspect had been a criminal justice and corrections major at Alfred State College.

Tambajang was arraigned in Alfred Village Court and remanded to Allegany County Jail on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 property bond.

(Wellsville Daily Reporter)