By Rich Bockmann
Officer Francisco Luciano and Sgt. Jonathan Cermeli were honored as the 105th Precinct’s Cops of the Month for May last week.
At around 2 a.m. May 17, the two officers responded to a call of a burglary at a home in Laurelton, Deputy Inspector Joseph Courtesis said at the precinct’s community council meeting June 27.
When they entered the completely dark house, they found a 16-year-old boy inside, with a screwdriver in one hand and a pocket full of the homeowner’s jewelry, Courtesis said. The teenager was arrested and locked up, facing a $100,000 bail request, the commanding officer said.
“The reason for the high bail was how we were able to link him to other things going on,” Courtesis explained.
Despite what Courtesis called some good arrests, burglaries were up 30 percent in the 28-day period ending June 17.
“Burglaries go down in Laurelton, and then they start to pick up in Queens Village,” he said. “We’re seeing a spike in Rosedale now.”
Grand larcenies were down close to 15 percent, though thefts of autos were up close to 14 percent. Courtesis said there have been about 10 stolen motorcycles so far this year, which he believed are being shipped out of the country.
“They’re being taken out of a driveway and thrown in the back of a minivan,” he said. “Coincidentally, I get a call about a stolen minivan.”
Another problem police expect to persist throughout the summer is that of house parties. Courtesis said his noise-control unit had been to more than 150 house parties in 28 days, many of which had more than 300 people in attendance. Due to the size of the parties, he said he has to dedicate significant resources to break them up.
“One really big party can put my whole unit out of commission,” he said. “It’s a constant battle for us.”
One resident said she can have up to four parties on her block at the same time, which means having to deal with cars triple parked in the street and in homeowners’ driveways.
Courtesis said he anticipated having a rough time around the Fourth of July holiday with parties and illegal fireworks. Both are much easier to deal with before they happen, and Courtesis urged community members to contact the precinct with information they have on either.
The 105th set up a Twitter account, @105comcouncil, which will distribute tips as well as alert followers to crime trends.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
