Stolen candelabra sends Feura Bush man to jail

Andrew Houghtaling

NEW SCOTLAND — A Feura Bush man was arrested last week for stealing a silver candelabra worth $800, according to Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple.

Andrew J. Houghtaling, 19, of 552 Onesquethaw Creek Road in Feura Bush, was arrested on April 2 for stealing a neighbor’s Gorham silver candelabra. According to the police, the candelabra was pawned at an exchange shop in Colonie and police were not able to recover it. Houghtaling was charged with second-degree burglary, a felony; and petit larceny, a misdemeanor.

Inspector William Riley of the sheriff’s office told The Enterprise that the neighbor who owned the candelabra suspected Houghtaling of the theft and reported him to the police.

“We went through the phone records and found he had called” the pawn shop, Riley said. “We interviewed him, and he admitted it.”

The Colonie pawn shop gave Houghtaling $10 for the candelabra, Riley said, but later destroyed the piece after deciding that it was not real silver.

“The original owner had it appraised at $800,” Riley said. Colonie does not have regulations to require pawn shops to hold merchandise for a minimum amount of time before disposing of purchased items, Riley said.

Houghtaling was previously arrested on Dec. 21, 2014 at his home for third-degree criminal mischief, a felony. According to the sheriff’s arrest report then, police responded to the house for a domestic incident in which Houghtaling said he planned to “blow his head off” with a shotgun if the complainant left the house. A mental-health check determined that he was “not a threat to himself or others,” the report said. Houghtaling told police he was arguing with his girlfriend and jumped through the window of her vehicle as she tried to leave, breaking her rearview mirror with his head, the report said. Police took him into custody for damaging the mirror and windshield, and took a shotgun and photographs of the damage, the report said. Houghtaling was remanded to the county’s jail for $10,000 bail or bond and was due in New Scotland Town Court on Jan 29. Houghtaling pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined $100, with a surcharge of $125. Judge Margaret Adkins issued a no-contact order of protection.

After the silver burglary last week, New Scotland Town Court Judge David Wukitsch remanded Houghtaling to the county’s jail without bail. Following the court calendar, Riley said, Houghtaling should be due in court on April 9.

Calls to Houghtaling’s home were not answered.

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