By Connor Adams Sheets
Police arrested four men last week thought to be connected to a string of construction site robberies in northeast Queens.
Police at the 109th Precinct were working to find a team of burglars who had been stealing items from new construction sites throughout Flushing, Whitestone and College Point when they got a call from a College Point resident at about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 15 reporting suspicious activity, according to Crime Prevention Officer Anthony LoVerme.
Police responded to a construction site in the vicinity of 123rd Street and 6th Avenue and arrested four Hispanic men, whose names are being withheld, who had illegally entered the site, according to LoVerme.
“A neighbor called up because he saw the men entering the property. He called 911 at about 9:30 at night and that’s how we caught them,” LoVerme said. “They were going in there to steal appliances, tools, boilers, that type of stuff.”
LoVerme said he believed the men are connected to the string of late-night robberies which the 109th has been working to stop, but stopped short of saying that the crime pattern would be stopped entirely now that these arrests have been made. As such, he recommended that Queens residents remain vigilant.
“Neighbors should continue to call 911,” he said. “This as an example of how the community can help us to fight crime. If they see something on their block, they should give us a call.”
Similar robberies have been occurring throughout northeast Queens for a couple months, according to LoVerme. On Dec. 6 alone, he said two robberies occurred at construction sites in Flushing, one at 116th Street and 16th Avenue, and a second at 154th Street and 20th Road.
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
