Featured Story

3rd suspect arrested in Silver Beach burglary case

Shelter Island Police have made a third arrest in the April 2023 burglary and vandalism case in Silver Beach. Christian M. Stepalovitch Jr., 19, of Sayville was arrested Tuesday and charged with burglary and criminal mischief, both in the second degree.

He was released on supervised probation.

His arrest came on the heels of the arrest of two other youths on July 9. Joshua L. Capobianco and John B. Schuster, both 18 and from Sayville, were charged with burglary in the second degree for what police said was illegal entry into two homes in Silver Beach on or about April 12, 2023, with damage estimated at one of the homes at close to $600,000. Police called the damage to that house on Peconic Avenue “shocking.”

In a release this week on the latest arrest, Det. Sgt. Jack Thilberg said it’s believed there were at least five individuals involved in the crime and the investigation, in collaboration with a number of crime fighting groups, including the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, the Major Crime Bureau, Technical Services Unit, the Suffolk County Police Department, Crime Stoppers of Suffolk County, SUNY Police at Oneonta and other law enforcement partners.