Thieves sent Forestville man to prison for 7 years

A Forestville man who committed a string of burglaries during the holiday season last year was sentenced to seven years in prison, Chautauqua District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced.

Gary Lang, 56, was also ordered by a Chautauqua District Court Judge to serve five years of probation after his release. On July 12, he pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree burglary, a Class D violent crime.

Lang was arrested following an investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigation Division into multiple thefts from vehicles, buildings and homes in Fredonia and the towns of Portland and Pomfret during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day 2023.

Lang was previously indicted on burglary charges in connection with a series of burglaries from vehicles and homes in the towns of Ripley, Pomfret and Gerry in 2021.