Under intense public pressure to stop a perceived crime wave, Troy police called a press conference this morning to announce three arrests in two homicides.
A 33-year old homeless man identified as Daniel Reuter and Jacob Heimroth, also 33, of Troy, were arrested Monday for the August 20th beating deaths of Allen and Maria Lockrow, found beaten to death in their home.
"Bloggers and everybody else put a lot of pressure on us, but there was never any doubt in our mind that we were going to bring these to a successful conclusion." Police Chief John Tedesco says the Lockrow couple's stolen 2013 Ford Escape was recovered Friday. The SUV had been set afire in a nearby county. Tedesco wouldn't add more details or comment on reports that the couple may have recently "won big" at OTB.
The other arrest was for the Robert Rivera killing on June 30th: the 54-year old was found dead at 603 Second Ave., in Lansingburgh. 18-year old Jefferey Brown of Cohoes was charged in the case.
The homicide cases will be presented to a grand jury on Thursday.
As for other Collar City crimes, Tedesco says police are pressing on into their investigation into a string of arsons that plagued Lansingburgh. "We have three solid suspects." There was a lot more Tedesco WOULDN'T SAY so as not to compromise outstanding investigations.
Mayor Lou Rosamilia breathed a sigh of relief as he pointed out that five out of six city homicide cases have been solved. "Even though we have done this, we still have more work to do, and doin' that work is what we wanna make sure people are aware of. As we continue, we're gonna continue our effort in the community to make those safer."
Tedesco added the police are very close to solving the arson murder of 19-year-old Vanessa Milligan and her unborn child.
Rosamilia and Tedesco say increased police presence on the city beat will continue for the time being.
