Say R’wood Burglar Went On Snack Attacks
Hungry to make a profit, a Brooklyn man busted by police last Friday, Feb. 15, is accused of allegedly breaking into a snack food warehouse in Ridgewood on six different occasions in the last year, stealing cases of products and then selling them to shopkeepers, law enforcement sources said.
The perpetrator was identified by police as 34-year-old Robert Connolly of Hart Street on the Ridgewood/
Bushwick border in Brooklyn.
According to information provided by the Queens District Attor- ney’s office, Connolly allegedly broke into the Frito-Lay warehouse and parking lot located on Flushing Avenue near Charlotte Street at around 12:15 a.m. last Friday morning, Feb. 15.
Reportedly, P.O. Robert Sowden of the 104th Precinct was on patrol in the area when he spotted Connolly pushing open a gate and entering the FritoLay premises.
Moments later, the criminal complaint noted, the officer observed Connolly wheeling out 14 cases of assorted snack products on a handtruck and stopped the perpetrator.
During a search, police reportedly recovered a screwdriver and electrical tape in Connolly’s possession. The suspect was subsequently taken into custody.
Upon being questioned, according to the criminal complaint, Connolly allegedly admitted to breaking into the Frito-Lay warehouse on several different occasions dating back to last April.
He reportedly stole cases of snacks and then sold them to bodegas located in Brooklyn.
Law enforcement sources said that Frito-Lay employees reported seven missing cases of products on the morning of Apr. 12, 2012; an additional six cases were reported stolen on the morning of Aug. 27, 2012.
The criminal complaint noted that another 20 cases of snacks, as well as a handtruck, were taken from the Frito-Lay facility on Oct. 15, 2012; an additional quantity of products and a second handtruck were reported stolen just three days later.
Authorities said that, four days before Connolly’s capture, five snack cases and a handtruck went missing at the warehouse on Feb. 11.
Connolly was charged with eight counts of third-degree burglary as well as additional counts of grand larceny, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and possession of burglar’s tools
According to court records, the suspect was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court last Saturday, Feb. 16, before Judge Gene Lopez, who ordered him held on $15,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on Mar. 1.
