Friday, May 21, 2010
A sheriff's investigator's work following up on his only lead -- a fast-food receipt -- resulted in the conviction of an Elmira man on burglary and larceny charges Thursday.
Christopher A. Fomby, 39, of West Henry Street, was convicted after trial of second-degree burglary, a class C felony, and fourth-degree grand larceny, a class E felony. Assistant District Attorney Damian Sonsire prosecuted the case.
Chemung County Sheriff's Investigator Nicholas DeMuth investigated two burglaries reported June 3 on Mount Zoar Road in Southport. Jewelry and coins were taken from both homes, and one home was missing a large amount of change, DeMuth said.
DeMuth found a receipt from McDonald's on North Main Street in Elmira, dated the same day, in the driveway of one of the homes.
DeMuth took the receipt to the restaurant and determined the transaction was conducted in the drive-through lane.
DeMuth looked at security camera footage of the transaction to get a description of the vehicle used: a two-tone, blue-and-grey SUV, with unique running boards and no hubcaps on the tires.
DeMuth said he found the SUV on West Henry Street on Elmira's Southside. He interviewed the vehicle's owner and learned she had dropped Fomby off on Mount Zoar Road in Southport around the time of the burglaries.
DeMuth also learned that Fomby went to Tops Markets on Elmira's Southside at 1 p.m. that day to convert about $135 of change into paper money using an automatic machine.
Fomby received about $123 after the machine took its cut, DeMuth said.
It took about 15 minutes to feed the coins into the machine, said Chief Assistant District Attorney John Thweatt, who handled the indictment.
"And of course, all that's on video at the store," Thweatt said.
A clerk at Tops Markets also testified that Fomby used the machine.
"I got lucky with that one," DeMuth said. "We had a lot of burglaries with that M.O., and that was the only piece of information, the only piece of evidence that I had."
Fomby faces up to 15 years imprisonment at his June 21 sentencing. He also is under indictment for another burglary, District Attorney Weeden Wetmore said.