106th Cops Crack Burglary Spree, three arrested

Captain Joseph J. Courtesis, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park, awarded one of his sergeants and four police officers for breaking a “plague” of burglaries in the area at the Police Community Council meeting on Wednesday, March 12.
It all started when Sergeant Roxroy Bucknor checked his informants to see what “the word was on the street” and obtained information about a possible suspect. While being watched, the suspect made the mistake of getting into his car and driving away with a suspended license, giving officers Victor Sadarangani, Richard Sparuta, Brian Coffey and Nicholas Barnard an excuse to stop and interrogate him.
The debriefing at the precinct resulted in the arrest of three people altogether, now on $100,000, $50,000 and $20,000 bails respectively — and the breaking of the pattern of burglaries terrorizing the neighborhood.
After hearing the good news, members of the community complained about parties that cause too much noise in the area, and questioned whether the precinct would be able to handle the volume of complaints during summertime when the problem gets significantly aggravated. Courtesis acknowledged the importance of the issue, stating that he has dedicated four officers to deal with noise complaints in the neighborhood.
“People can’t tolerate the noise, I understand,” Courtesis said. “And I try to make that my priority.” He assured the over 40 people gathered at the meeting that his officers would answer the calls as expeditiously as they can, asking Ozone Park residents to recognize that the 3-1-1 system requires a lot of work and the precinct prioritizes crime response based on its severity.
Lieutenant Michael Coyle encouraged the members of the community to contact the precinct if they see somebody setting up for a large-scale party, such as a wedding. “I live for that call,” he said half-jocularly.
Another issue raised by the community was the overwhelming number of vehicles parked all around the precinct area. The neighborhood does not have alternate-side parking, making it easy for people to park on the streets and not move their cars for months. The problem is that with so many cars, it is very hard to separate the legally parked from those that have to be towed right away. Consequently, Courtesis has dedicated another officer to organize the derailed vehicle process.
Another problem briefly discussed at the meeting was the one with graffiti plaguing the area. Usually the officers photograph the graffiti, sorting them by tags, so when they catch offenders they can attribute to them all their other misdemeanors. As the meeting was going on, four alleged suspects were being interrogated at the station for graffiti.
The Community Council meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 8 p.m. at the 106th Precinct station house. For more information, call the precinct at 718-845-2211.