Seneca County Sheriff W. Timothy Luce reports on November 17, 2022, at about 4:57am, the Seneca County E-911 Center received a call for a burglary in progress at a residence on Route 96 in the Town of Covert. Upon the arrival of Sheriff’s Deputies, the suspect had fled the scene on foot into a wooded area and was possibly armed. A perimeter was set up and a hyper-reach was sent out by the E-911 Center for residents to “shelter in place” within close proximity of the residence. While Sheriff’s Deputies searched the area, a second burglary was discovered at a neighboring residence. At that scene, the suspect had attempted to steal a motor vehicle on the property and had stolen a handgun. At about 7:59am, Sheriff’s Deputies placed the suspect in custody after he entered another residence in the immediate area. The stolen handgun was also recovered in close proximity to the scenes after it was detected by the Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.
As a result of the investigation, Sheriff’s Investigators charged Leandre D. Lovett, age 29, no permanent address, Ithaca, New York, with the following:
• Burglary in the Second Degree (two counts)
• Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree
• Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree
• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree
• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree
• Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree
• Petit Larceny
Lovett was held at the Seneca County Correctional Facility and will be arraigned in the Seneca County Centralized Arraignment Court on November 17, 2022 at 7pm. Lovett is currently on New York State Parole supervision.
The New York State Police, Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, Ithaca Police Department, and Trumansburg Police Department assisted in the investigation.
If any residents in the Town of Covert would like to report any suspicious activity or additional information in relation to this case, they are encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at (315) 220-3240.
Seneca County
Sheriff
New York