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The Jewish Star

A 23-year-old man arrested and charged with stealing two torahs and other religious items from the Chabad of the Beaches in Long Beach has pled guilty to grand larceny and is to be sentenced on Feb. 22 to a six-month jail term.

The Nassau County District Attorney’s office said Hunter McElrath pled guilty and will also receive five months probation and is ordered to stay away from the Orthodox synagogue.

The DA’s office declined further comment. Christopher Graziano, who is listed as McElrath’s attorney, did not return a call seeking comment. 

McElrath was listed by police as homeless. 

The burglary, which was accompanied by vandalism to the aron kodesh, sparked a speedy investigation by Long Beach police and an exhaustive search for the torahs. Synagogue members were joined by some local residents in scouring the waters and the beach. McElrath, according to authorities, never revealed the reason for his actions. The torahs were never found, but some religious objects — a crown and a yad — were discovered on the beach.

The attack on the synagogue, over the weekend of Aug. 27, came two weeks before Rosh Hashana.

The incident occurred as the congregation was preparing to celebrate the first Rosh Hashana in its new home on Walnut Street, a spacious, well-lit facility with plenty of room for both prayer and children to play.

At the time of the incident, Rabbi Eli Goodman, spiritual of the Chabad of the Beaches, said that about 4:40 pm Aug. 28 he saw that the two torahs were missing, as were other religious objects, such as crowns and a pointer used when the religious scrolls are read during services. He immediately called police.

Long Beach Police Commissioner Ron Walsh said at the time that police had received telephone calls about a naked man on the beach. McElrath was arrested Aug. 28. He was immediately sent to Nassau County Medical Center for psychiatric evaluation.

Last Wednesday, Rabbi Goodman said he had kept up with the investigation.

“I’m not for punishing anybody more than they should be” Goodman said. “The main goal was not to punish him, but to hopefully find the missing torahs.”

The Chabad synagogue held a ceremony a few days after the theft to announce that a couple who are members of the congregation donated money to purchase a new torah. Goodman said that a new torah is being written currently in Israel.

“Where there was darkness, there is now light,” Rabbi Goodman said.

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