Invaded Flushing Apt., Duped Sunnyside Woman
A Manhattan man admitted in court last week to robbing three elderly women in a Flushing home invasion and a Sunnyside deception burglary in April of this year, prosecutors announced.
Salvador Morales, 59, of 158th Street in Manhattan pled guilty last Monday, Dec. 15, to first- and second-degree burglary. Queens Supreme Court Justice Elisa Koenderman accepted the plea and scheduled Morales’ sentencing hearing for Jan. 23; she indicated he would likely serve an 11-year term behind bars.
Law enforcement sources said Morales pushed and robbed two elderly women as they walked through the front door of their Flushing apartment on Apr. 5. Two weeks later, the suspect- who claimed to be working for the landlord-entered a 97-yearold woman’s Sunnyside apartment and stole hundreds of dollars in cash and jewelry.
“One’s home is their castle and should be a place of refuge and safety, not a crime scene,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement last Thursday, Dec. 18. “In robbing his victims inside their homes, [Morales] stole more than just money and personal property; he stole his victims’ security.”
The Flushing incident reportedly occurred on Apr. 5 at an apartment building in the vicinity of Kissena Boulevard.
According to prosecutors, Morales-while wearing a yellow hard hat, a white surgical mask and surgical tape on his fingers-followed the two men- ages 72 and 73-from a nearby bank into their apartment building.
Police said he rode the elevator with the two victims and departed with them a few floors later. As the victims opened the door and walked in, authorities noted, Morales allegedly pushed them to the ground and grabbed the 72-year-old woman’s purse, which contained more than $1,000 in cash. He then fled the scene.
The 73-year-old woman suffered a broken leg as a result of the attack and was treated at a nearby hospital, police noted.
Prosecutors said the Sunnyside episode occurred on Apr. 19, when Morales-again wearing a surgical mask on his face-followed a 97-year-old woman onto an elevator at her apartment building. Reportedly, he departed on the fifth-floor while the victim continued to the sixth-floor.
Immediately after the woman entered her apartment, authorities said, Morales knocked on the door and identified himself as working for the landlord to check for leaks inside her apartment. The woman reportedly complied and let Morales inside her home.
Police stated Morales used a number of ploys to distract the woman, including asking her for change of a $100 bill. Reportedly, the woman retrieved an envelope full of $700 in cash and offered to provide the change, but Morales declined her office.
While checking the bathroom for purported leaks, law enforcement sources stated, Morales insisted that the woman remove her rings after splashing water onto her hands to avoid damaging the jewelry; the victim eventually complied.
Prosecutors said Morales asked the woman to go to the living room while he ran the water; after she did so, he took the rings and the envelope of cash and fled from the apartment.
Officers from the 109th and 108th precincts responded to both incidents, respectively.
Detectives picked up Morales on May 2 for the Flushing burglary and, on Dec. 5, charged him with the Sunnyside deception burglary.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Dianna L. Megias of the DA’s Special Victims Bureau, which is supervised by Assistant District Attorneys Kenneth M. Appelbaum, bureau chief, and Lucinda C. Suarez and Eric C. Rosenbaum, deputy bureau chiefs.
