Police: Crime ring scoured obituaries, broke into cars at funerals

Rochester, N.Y. -- (WHAM) -- Three people are being charged as part of a crime ring that used obituaries to target funeral home parking lots in multiple counties.

At a joint news conference Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement from Monroe, Livingston and Ontario Counties announced the arrest of three suspects in the investigation.

Bruce Newton, 39, Cearra Campbell, 20, and Chelsea O'Hare, 23 - all of Rochester - were charged with eight counts of grand larceny 4th and three counts of criminal mischief 3rd.

According to police, this investigation developed over the course of three months. Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn, Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero, Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty, Greece Police Chief Patrick Phelan and Webster Police Chief Joseph Rieger all coordinated their investigations to make the arrests.

Over the course of three months, several vehicle break-ins were reported in parking lots at local parks and funeral homes in Monroe, Livingston and Ontario Counties. Newton, Campbell and O'Hare were known to visit certain stores to use credit cards they had stolen, investigators said.