Instead of driving the police away with a fake emergency call, a suspected burglar wound up bringing more cops to his Hamilton Beach block Thursday afternoon.
Keith Kolm, 25, of 164th Road, allegedly broke into the Key Food supermarket at 163-30 Cross Bay Blvd. in Howard Beach at 6 a.m. on April 6 and stole the shop’s ATM.
Through an investigation, the 106th Precinct Detective Squad linked Kolm to the crime and “plastered the neighborhood” with wanted posters featuring his mugshot, one law enforcement source said. Plainclothes officers staked out the suspect’s home for several weeks, but he never surfaced.
At about 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, police received a 911 call regarding an officer in need of assistance at the corner of Linden Boulevard and the Van Wyck Expressway service road in South Ozone Park, authorities said.
While heading to the scene with other units, an on-duty supervisor requested the location of where the 911 call was made; police learned that the call came from a cellphone in Hamilton Beach.
Plainclothes officers stationed outside Kolm’s home activated their sirens and drove around the corner, according to authorities. After a few moments, they returned to the location and observed Kolm walking outside his home.
“That call was placed so he could get out of the house,” a law enforcement source said.
Kolm then led officers on a foot pursuit through Hamilton Beach streets and backyards, prompting additional NYPD units to respond to the area, police said. At about 4:30 p.m., officers apprehended Kolm on the rooftop of a home in the area of 104th Street and 163rd Drive.
Charges against Kolm are pending.
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