Capt. Donald Powers
May 30, 2012 By Christian Murray
Herman Oliazola just put his nose in where it didn’t belong.
The Bronx man was arrested for a Sunnyside burglary after the police saw video footage of him breaking into an apartment at 46-51 50th Street.
“We got the video of him and he was trying to defeat the camera by covering his face with a handkerchief and pulling his baseball cap down low,” said Captain Donald Powers at the police precinct 108 meeting yesterday.
But Oliazola was not careful enough. Powers said the police got a partial side image—and “one of our cops who arrested him two years ago for burglary recognized his nose, particularly his nostrils.”
Powers said they were able to locate Oliazola with the help of a Bronx police precinct, which had recently arrested him on a reckless driving charge. The cops quickly discovered Oliazola owned a “distinctive set of sneakers” like the ones taken from the Sunnyside apartment. The police were able to arrest him on that burglary as well as two others in the 108 precinct.
Powers said the precinct made a series of arrests in the past month that should help keep a lid on the number of robberies and burglaries in the precinct. He said one or two perpetrators can account for a significant jump in crime.
The police arrested Shadie Alsaidei on May 3, who was responsible for three high-profile robberies on 50th Ave and 44th Street. According to police, Alsaidei forced three men at gunpoint on April 12, 18 and 23, to withdraw money from an ATM at a nearby bodega.
The police arrested two men on May 16 relating to a residential burglary in Woodside. Powers said the police suspect the men are responsible for a number of burglaries in the 108 precinct.
Meanwhile, Powers said the police were able to arrest two men this week after they attempted to break into a Woodside house, on 51st Ave and 63rd Street, with a blow torch. Powers said the men are responsible for at least 12 burglaries throughout Queens. This incident was the only one in the 108 precinct.
The police initially caught up with one of the men, Jefferson Villarama, on Monday, who had watches, cutlery, silver and electronics in his possession. The following day the police caught the other man, Michael Natindim. Both are from Elmhurst.
Burglaries have been a persistent problem in the 108 precinct, up 24% this year. Overall, crime is up 1% in the 108 precinct this year—across the major categories.
