COPS Hunt for Bar Burglar

La Gloria, a new lounge in Jackson Heights had been open little over a week, when the place was robbed. Then a week later, the same burglar struck again, said Owner Andre Rodriguez, who captured an image of the thief on his video surveillance on both January 27 and February 3.
Now police are looking for the burglar, who is believed to have hit at least six bars and eateries along Northern Boulevard and 31st Avenue over a one-month stretch. Police described the suspect as a Hispanic man in his mid 30s and said that he generally enters through either a rear door or window and steals cash and electronics.
In total, Rodriguez estimated he lost $8,000 during the two break-ins - equipment from the DJ booth and cash left in the unlocked registers. He had ordered a steel gate for the back of the restaurant, located at 86-11 Northern Boulevard, but it hadn’t arrived yet when he was burglarized the second time.
“He got to us before the gate got here,” Rodriguez said, adding, “He knows what he is doing. He is not a stupid robber.”
Rodriguez believes that the suspect staked out the trendy lounge beforehand, explaining that on one of the nights he was robbed - both on Sundays - he and his staff had locked up at about 5:30 a.m. Then the surveillance tape showed the man entering a few minutes later at 5:45 a.m.
“He hangs out outside - sees if you are busy, and if you are having a good night, then he comes in,” speculated Rodriguez.
However, Rodriguez said he has taken extra measures to make sure that his bar and the attached Cuban Dominican, which is scheduled to open in April, are not hit again. He has been working with his local police precinct - the 115th - and has been passing out the burglar’s picture to fellow restaurateurs.
“We’ve been getting together, and I’ve been warning them because I don’t want anyone else to get hit,” Rodriguez said.
According to police, the first bar burglary on 31st Avenue and 89th Street occurred on Wednesday, January 9 at about 4:30 a.m., and at about the same time the following morning, a restaurant on Northern Boulevard and 82nd Avenue was hit. Rodriguez’s lounge was robbed on Sunday, January 27 at 11:30 p.m. and the next morning, a bar on 91st Street and 31st Avenue was broken into, and the following morning, the burglar entered the restaurant next to La Gloria. At about 4:30 a.m. on Friday, February 2, a bar on Northern Boulevard and 80th Street was burglarized, and the next morning, the rash of thefts ended with a return to Rodriguez’s, police said.
Police from the 115th Precinct also believe that the burglar also hit two businesses on Tuesday, February 5, the first on Astoria Boulevard and 90th Street and the second on 31st Avenue and 96th Street.
Since the spree, cops have advised bar owners to install alarms and surveillance and have beefed up their presence in the area.
“You have no idea with these guys,” said Police Officer William Wilkerson of the 115th Ground Unit. “You don’t know if the increased police presence is going to make him move on, or if he’s going to strike again.”
“If he comes again, he is asking for it,” Rodriguez said, while cleaning up on Sunday, February 10. Police are also asking for assistance in identifying the burglar, and anyone with information is asked to call the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
For Rodriguez, who still plans to open the adjoining restaurant this spring, the break-ins caused added stress to go along with the monetary loss from an estimated $200,000 he had raised to start the businesses.
“If you want to be in this business, that’s the chance you take,” he said, later adding, “When you are starting out and you have all of that money set aside, you have to start over again.”