Anti-crime cops from an NYPD Queens Borough North task force were patrolling the 111th Precinct in Bayside recently and say they seized a burglar in the act – who they suspect may have been a one-man crime wave.
On Saturday, January 9, officers arrested Gilbert Loo, 49, as he was leaving a house near 48th Avenue and 208th Street at 6 a.m., carrying a bag and a box. Police had observed him enter the driveway and go around the back of the house a half-hour before.
According to Queens DA Richard A. Brown, the homeowner said that cash and a bank receipt were stolen out of the locked home as they slept on the second floor. Brown alleges that three wads of cash and a bank receipt were recovered from Loo’s pockets.
In addition Brown said that Loo was wearing gloves and had pliers, screwdrivers and other burglar’s tools in his possession.
Loo was arraigned on Monday, January 11 before Judge Toko Serita and charged with burglary, possession of stolen property and possession of burglar’s tools. Brown said the judge set $100,000 bond and remanded Loo to jail on Rikers Island.
If convicted of the top charge, Loo faces 15 years in prison, in addition to having to serve out time on the prior sentences. Records show that there is also an immigration warrant outstanding for him.
Records show that Loo had been on parole since October of 2008, after serving roughly five years of a 10-year sentence for two earlier burglaries. According to a law-enforcement source, he has an “extensive” criminal record.
A police source said that his actions fit a pattern of burglaries in the last few weeks, concentrated in a neighboring area of the 109th Precinct. In numerous late-night incidents, a glove-wearing burglar entered homes from the rear, only took cash and never went upstairs where residents could be sleeping.
Crime prevention officers in the 109th Precinct urge homeowners to help themselves and their neighbors.
“It’s rare that we actually catch a burglar unless we get a 9-1-1 call,” said Detective Kevin O’Donnell. “If you see someone prowling around the back of a neighbor’s house, or a vehicle that ‘just doesn’t belong’ please call – not the station house – call 9-1-1,” he said.
O’Donnell stressed that a caller can request anonymity. “We don’t need your name, just your help.” He also suggested that homeowners install a motion-activated light or leave a light on in the back of their home.
“You can help by making it hard on burglars. Lock your doors and windows; if you have an alarm, turn it on. Put big address numbers on the back of your home so your neighbors can send us to the right place – and most of all, if you see something, say something,” he said.
