A former police officer in Connecticut is facing a litany of charges related to a spree of burglaries across three states, according to an arrest warrant unsealed recently.
Patrick Hemingway, 37, is accused of committing at least 30 burglaries in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, targeting restaurants and businesses, and making off with cash from registers and safes.
Hemingway had already been charged last month with computer crimes, with allegations of misusing a police database on 80 occasions.
This misuse included inquiries about his and his wife’s vehicles, along with making a false statement. Law enforcement speculates that Hemingway may have been running these checks to determine if he was under police investigation.
According to the arrest warrant, Hemingway ran his own license plate number through the law enforcement database system, known as COLLECT, 28 times between January 14, 2021, and August 26, 2023, among other checks.
The newly unsealed warrant also revealed other details about Hemingway’s alleged criminal activities.
Surveillance videos reportedly show a tall man, matching Hemingway’s description, donning a mask, hoodie, gloves and using a flashlight in a “tactical manner.”
Furthermore, the suspect was observed holding a “coiled, corded object to his left ear,” similar to the radios used by the Glastonbury Police Department, where he had previously served as an officer.
Lock-picking tools, which Hemingway had access to during his time with the department, were also used in some of the burglaries.
In a bizarre twist, surveillance footage showed a vehicle used in the burglaries that appeared to resemble one owned by Hemingway’s wife. These pieces of evidence have been instrumental in building the case against him.
Hemingway was arrested on September 22 at a New Jersey airport, where he was considered a fugitive from justice. He is currently being held on a $1 million bond.
His lawyer, James E. Sulick, expressed his astonishment at the high bond amount in court.
“I’ve seen murder cases where the bond is that high,” Sulick stated.
Sulick claimed that Hemingway was in New Jersey to attend flight school with aspirations of becoming a commercial pilot.
Hemingway had worked as a police officer in Glastonbury from January 2019 until his resignation on September 1, 2023. Prior to that, he served with the New Britain Police Department from August 2009 until joining the Glastonbury police department.
Connecticut State Police and local authorities initially launched a joint investigation into the series of burglaries, ultimately identifying Hemingway as a suspect through cellphone tower data and surveillance images.
The Connecticut burglaries occurred in Wethersfield and Shelton, and Glastonbury police are investigating a spree of burglaries in their town between February and June of this year that align with the established pattern.
Hemingway is scheduled to appear in court on November 15, 2023. The full extent of his alleged criminal activities and motivations behind them are still under investigation.
