Rensselaer men busted in home burglary attempt; suspected of connection with 40 more

Two Rensselaer men suspected of burglarizing more than 40 homes across the Capital Region were caught in the middle of another home burglary in Albany County and are now facing charges.

Investigators were monitoring 27-year-old Jerry Tenney and 19-year-old Matthew Hallenbeck when they attempted to break into a Berne home Jan. 8th, according to the Albany County Sheriff's Office. Once the two forced their way into the home, officers closed in to arrest the men.

Hallenbeck surrendered without incident; Tenney fled on foot, but was taken into custody a short distance away.

The two were each charged with felony second-degree burglary, felony third-degree criminal mischief and felony fourth-degree grand larceny.

After the arrests, investigators executed search warrants at Tenney's and Hallenbeck's apartments in the city of Rensselaer, and on the car the two had been driving at the time of the burglary.

Police recovered several stolen items from Tenney's apartment, including electronics and jewelry, and burglar tools from the car.

A joint police agency investigation -- including State Police, East Greenbush Police, Coeymans Police, Rensselaer Police and Albany Police -- began several weeks ago after a high number of reported burglaries over the past few months. Investigators discovered strong similarities between the more than forty daytime burglaries they were investigating, including the break-in methods and tools.

According to investigators, Tenney and Hallenbeck would approach homes and knock at the door to see if anyone would answer. If there was no response, the men would check for alarms systems and any dogs, then force their way into the homes and steal cash, jewelry, electronics and various other personal items.

If they came upon a home that was occupied, investigators said, they would act as if they were looking for side jobs, by offering to shovel snow, for example.