ORCHARD PARK, NY — Two men were arrested early Sunday morning after police received a report of suspicious individuals checking door handles of parked vehicles.
Orchard Park Police Dispatch received a call shortly before 3 a.m. on March 29, 2026, from a resident on Lakeview Avenue reporting that they had witnessed two individuals checking door handles of parked vehicles.
Officers arrived moments later and located two males in the parking lot of a nearby business.
One of the males fled on a bicycle but was detained a short distance away by another responding officer.
Through the investigation, officers determined that Wayne Hallman, 41, and Carl Toporek, 42, had stolen property from unlocked vehicles in the neighborhood and were subsequently arrested.
Toporek was charged with conspiracy in the fifth degree and possession of burglar’s tools, as well as four Vehicle and Traffic Law infractions.
He was released to the custody of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office due to an outstanding probation warrant.
Toporek is scheduled to return to the Town of Orchard Park Court at a later date to answer the charges stemming from this incident.
Hallman was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, tampering with physical evidence, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, conspiracy in the fifth degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, possession of burglar’s tools and trespass.
Hallman was held for arraignment in the Town of Orchard Park Court, where he was remanded to the custody of the Erie County Holding Center.
During the arrest, Orchard Park Police officers recovered property that appears to be connected to additional larcenies in a neighboring town.
Officers will be working with that agency to assist in solving those cases as well.
