Just before midnight on Tuesday, two individuals were intercepted by the Ithaca police while reportedly using power tools to burglarize a business in northeast Ithaca, according to a press release from the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office.
The accused were Daniel P. Samson and Tressa E. Mikula, both age 36, of Groton, New York.
The Tompkins County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call Tuesday night from a resident near Salem Drive in northeast Ithaca. The caller said that they had heard noises coming from inside a business after hours, the press release said.
Upon arrival, the deputies found a running Jeep Wrangler in the driveway of the business and soon after caught up to the two individuals in the rear of the building.
Samson attempted to escape through the front of the building, where he was intercepted and arrested. Mikula was found inside the building.
Police said that Samson and Mikula used a hatchet and pry bar to enter the building and used power tools to access the contents of an interior safe. Before they were able to complete the heist, the pair were interrupted by police, read the press release.
After detaining the pair, police discovered that the Jeep Wrangler, the presumed getaway car, was stolen. The Sheriff’s Office believes that Mikula and Samson may be connected to several burglaries within and around Tompkins County.
Samson is currently in custody without bail in Tompkins County Jail and Mikula was released “on her own recognizance,” the press release said.
Both Samson and Mikula were charged with third-degree burglary and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Samson was additionally charged with possession of burglar tools and a traffic violation.
The sheriff’s office expects more charges to come, the press release said. The sheriff’s office is working with the Ithaca Police Department, Cayuga Heights Police Department and the New York State Police to investigate the links between this case and others in the surrounding area.
“I am incredibly proud of the prompt and diligent response of our entire overnight shift,” Sheriff Derek R. Osborne said in the press release. “This capture will go a long way in stopping the rash of property crimes that has inflicted our community and others.”