BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo police gave new details Tuesday about how they arrested a suspected serial burglar.
52-year-old Dale Gabler, of no permanent address, was charged Tuesday with 10 separate burglary cases spanning from September 4 through his arrest early Monday morning. He was remanded without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
"We got a dangerous criminal, I would say, off the street," said Buffalo Police Commissioner Al Wright at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
The investigation began when detectives noticed a pattern emerging in the Allentown area.
"One of our detective sergeants noticed the same description kept popping up in burglaries in Bravo District," said Chief of Detectives Joseph Langdon.
Bravo District, also known as B District, covers downtown, Allentown and the lower half of Elmwood Village.
"So probably the middle of last week is when we said 'Oh, this guy's like a serial burglar,'" Langdon said.
Police responded by increasing patrols in the area where the burglaries were occurring, which seemed to also be happening north of Delaware Park.
"We put extra detectives and extra foot patrol officers out on the street," Wright said.
The break in the case came Saturday night.
"Saturday night, we got real lucky and got a picture of the suspect. He also cut his hand in one of the locations, left some blood on scene," Langdon said.
Police identified the suspect as Gabler, who was out on parole after serving 12 years in prison for a previous series of burglaries. He had also been arrested on a stolen car charge on September 5, but was released.
Early Monday morning, two officers on the special detail were patrolling Amherst Street when they witnessed a burglary in progress.
"The guy was fleeing the house, being chased by the homeowners. And our detectives happened to be right there and they grabbed them," Langdon said.
WATCH: How BPD caught a suspected 'serial burglar' after string of burglaries in Buffalo
Detectives are looking at additional possible cases, too, he said.
Gabler was arraigned Tuesday morning before Buffalo City Court Judge Gary Wilson Jr. on charges including eight counts of burglary in the second degree, one count of grand larceny in the third degree, 16 counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree, 15 counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, and multiple other charges.
The burglaries allegedly occurred when residents were sleeping, with Gabler taking items ranging from electronics and car keys to household items like a can of Lysol.
Former Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia weighed in on the challenges of dealing with repeat offenders.
"I think there is an onus on public safety as a whole, government as a whole, to try to do something to curb that behavior, whether it's counseling, you know, whatever it is that's going to get somebody the help they need," Gramaglia said. "But if it doesn't, at some point you have to weigh the needs of the public over the needs of the person that's committing the crimes, and that means they have to be locked up and put away. While they're put away, you get them the services that they need."
Gramaglia also suggested legislative changes could help address repeat offenses.
"The state legislature, number one, needs to give more leeway to the judges to actually consider, I'll call them environmental factors, meaning the person, the crime committed, alleged to be committed, the circumstances around it, and their dangerousness to the community," he said.
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