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'Career Criminal' Charged With Break-Ins At Long Island Church, Home

NEW CASSEL, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A career criminal has been arrested after breaking into a church and a home on Long Island, authorities said.

Raleigh Maddox, 44, is accused of prying open the door of the Eben-Ezer Haitian Baptist Church on Prospect Avenue in New Cassel in August and stealing $12,000 worth of audio/visual equipment, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.

Maddox is also accused of breaking into a home on Second Avenue on Monday.

'Career Criminal' Charged With Break-Ins At Long Island Church, Home

A witness notified police, who found the suspect hiding in the home, cops said.

"The Police Department's biggest help in solving crimes is assistance from the community," Nassau County Police Inspector Kenneth Lack said.

When he was arrested, Maddox used a false name, Lack said. Police used the suspect's fingerprints to identify him.

Maddox's rap sheet dates back to the early 1990s.

"This individual is a career criminal with at least 14 convictions for crimes such as petit larcency, multiple counts of burglary, DWI, assault," Lack said.

Maddox is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Hempstead. He is charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, false personation and parole violation.

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