The Madison County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a series of burglaries at the Edward R. Andrews Elementary School, 55 Eaton St., Morrisville. On three separate dates, multiple individuals entered the school, part of the Morrisville-Eaton School District, outside of business hours and stole property. The separate burglaries occurred Oct. 28 at approximately 12:30 a.m., Oct. 31 at approximately 12:30 a.m., and Nov. 1 at approximately 3:10 a.m.
During the Oct. 28 and 31 incidents, two individuals entered the school in the early morning hours and stole several items, consisting mainly of food items; during the Nov. 1 incident, three individuals entered the school building and stole property consisting of food items and personal effects from desks of staff.
On Nov. 1, 2022, the Sheriff’s Office arrested Jahmar Acosta, 19, of Staten Island, a student at SUNY Morrisville. He was arrested while fleeing from the burglary. Subsequent police investigation showed that Acosta was present for all three burglaries, and he was charged with three counts of third-degree burglary (a class D felony) and petit larceny (a class A misdemeanor). Acosta was arraigned in Madison County CAP Court and was released on his own recognizance.
Also on Nov. 1, deputies arrested Havis Wade, 18, of Brooklyn, also a student at SUNY Morrisville. Police investigation showed that Wade participated in all three burglaries; he was charged with three counts third-degree burglary (a class D felony) and petit larceny (a class A misdemeanor). He was arraigned in Madison County CAP Court and released on his own recognizance.
On Nov. 3, deputies arrested Ezekierius Varence, 18, of the Bronx, also a SUNY Morrisville student. The investigation showed that Varence participated in the Nov. 1 burglary at the school. Varence was charged with a single count of third-degree burglary (a class D felony) and petit larceny (a class A misdemeanor). At the time of this writing, Varence was at the Madison County Jail pending arraignment in CAP Court.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind members of the MECS community that school security and the safety of students is a priority. There is a full-time school resource officer assigned to the Edward R. Andrews Elementary School to address security and safety concerns during school hours.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in this investigation by the SUNY Morrisville Police Department, the Cazenovia Police Department and New York State Police. MCSO would also like to thank Morrisville-Eaton School District for its cooperation, support and assistance with this investigation.