By Jeremy Walsh
A Ridgewood man and his Brooklyn brother have been charged with breaking into Queens parking meters in Elmhurst and Flushing twice over the last four months and stealing thousands of quarters, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Miguel Williams, 39, who lives on Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood, and his younger brother, Terrence Williams, 39, who was born within the same year, of Brooklyn, were arraigned Aug. 20 in Queens Criminal Court on charges of possessing burglar’s tools, petit larceny, possession of stolen property and criminal tampering. If convicted, they each face up to one year in jail, the DA’s office said. The men each posted $1,000 bail and were due back in court Thursday.
“To coin a phrase, these two defendants are accused of acting like two-bit thieves to unjustly enrich themselves,” Brown said in a statement. “Unfortunately for them, time has expired on their alleged scam.”
Police from the 109th Precinct saw the brothers standing next to two parking meters at the intersection of Main Street and Maple Avenue just after midnight Aug. 20, Brown said. Each man allegedly held a set of metal keys they used to open the meters and remove multiple quarters, the DA said.
The brothers allegedly stuffed the loot in Miguel Williams’ pockets, where officers recovered 740 quarters — $185 — after detaining the men, the DA said. Cops found an additional five keys in Miguel Williams’ shoe, Brown said.
The Williams brothers were also arrested May 1 on similar charges. On that day the two men got out of a black Chevrolet Tahoe near the Queens Center Mall and approached several parking meters, which Miguel Williams opened with a key while Terrence Williams blocked his actions, Brown said.
When police from the 110th Precinct arrested the men, they recovered two keys from under Miguel Williams’ hat and six keys rolled in his shirt, Brown said. Police also found 7,884 quarters — $1,971 — in the SUV, which belonged to Miguel Williams’ wife, Brown said.
Bail in that case, which is pending, was set at $2,500 for Miguel Williams and $1,000 for Terrence Williams. Both men are due back in court Sept. 23.
Brown said authorities were investigating to determine where and how the defendants obtained the keys.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
