Grand Island man arrested in antiques theft

Grand Island Dispatch, October 2, 2009

Steven M. Danaher, 29, of Grand Island, has been charged with third degree criminal possession of stolen property in connection with a theft on an antique table and chairs from a 91-year-old Town of Concord man.

Danaher was arrested Sept. 20 inside a motel on Sheridan Drive in the Town of Tonawanda.

According to a report by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, investigators executing a search warrant found the stolen furniture at Danaher’s West River Road residence as well as a computer containing photographs of the furniture that had been taken from inside the victim’s residence.

Also arrested following a foot chase on Grand Island on Sept. 19 was James Garcia Jr., 28, of Potomac Avenue in Buffalo. He was charged with burglary in the second degree and grand larceny in the second degree, both Class C felonies, as well as criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, a Class D felony.

The investigation is continuing and additional arrests are expected, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The victim’s granddaughter, a resident of New Mexico, called the Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 18 reporting that her grandfather’s antique table, which is about 150 years old, and five antique chairs had been stolen from his residence the day before.

Investigators determined that the victim’s house had been entered several times by the suspects, who had posed at different times as salesmen and as servicemen for a propane company. It also was determined that the suspects entered the house on Aug. 3 to photograph the table and chairs and returned on Aug. 17 to steal them.

The investigation was conducted by detectives Jack Graham, Matt Noecker, Greg McCarthy and Dennis Fitzgibbon.