New York woman arrested after breaking into two different synagogues

Police searching for second suspect wanted in connection with the burglaries. 

By World Israel News Staff

A 33-year-old New York woman has been charged in connection with burglaries at two synagogues in Monticello after police caught her fleeing one of the houses of worship and later linked her to an earlier break-in through surveillance footage.

Adalis Rodriguez-Valentin, a Monticello resident, faces two counts of third-degree burglary stemming from incidents at the Pine Knoll Bungalow Colony and another synagogue on Wood Avenue, according to the Village of Monticello Police Department.

The investigation began at approximately 2 am Thursday, September 3, when officers were called to the Pine Knoll Bungalow Colony at 198 Forestburgh Road following a report of a burglary in progress.

A resident had seen two people entering a building on surveillance video, according to police. Responding officers determined that the colony’s synagogue had been burglarized and spotted two people still on the property.

Police ordered the pair to stop, but both allegedly fled on foot.

Rodriguez-Valentin was later discovered hiding beneath part of a building and taken into custody, authorities said. The second suspect escaped.

New York State Police, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and a police K-9 unit joined the search for the second person, but authorities were unable to locate the suspect.

As investigators examined the case, they reviewed surveillance footage from a separate burglary at a synagogue at 70 Wood Avenue two days earlier, on September 1.

Police said the footage allegedly identified Rodriguez-Valentin as having participated in that break-in as well, resulting in a second burglary charge.

Rodriguez-Valentin was arraigned in Monticello Justice Court and released on her own recognizance pending further proceedings. Police said the investigation remains active as authorities work to identify and apprehend the second person allegedly involved in the Pine Knoll burglary.

Authorities have not publicly announced a motive for the break-ins, and there has been no indication from police that the incidents are being investigated as hate crimes.

The burglaries nevertheless come amid heightened security concerns surrounding Jewish institutions in New York following a series of attacks and a continuing high level of reported antisemitic incidents.

New York City Police Department statistics released last week showed 425 confirmed hate crimes during the first eight months of 2026, up from 367 during the same period in 2025 — an increase of nearly 16%.

Anti-Jewish offenses accounted for 229 of those incidents, compared with 212 during the same period last year, an increase of 8%. The figures apply to New York City rather than Monticello, which is located roughly 90 miles northwest of the city in Sullivan County, but underscore the wider security concerns facing Jewish communities across the state.

Those concerns intensified in August following an attack during Shabbat services at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue. Federal prosecutors later charged a man with hate crimes and destruction of religious property in connection with assaults on a congregant and a security guard.

“These charges serve as notice that the Department of Justice will intervene to protect the public in the face of antisemitic and racially motivated attacks,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said when the federal charges were announced.

“The Civil Rights Division stands ready to combat assaults against worshippers and houses of worship,” she added.

In the Monticello case, however, authorities have so far characterized the incidents as burglaries, and no bias-related charges have been announced.

Police are continuing their search for the second suspect.

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