By Gabriel Rom
Police from the 104th Precinct have arrested a suspect wanted in a string of car break-ins in Ridgewood and Maspeth.
Police officials said Carlos Barriors, of Brooklyn, has been charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and petty larceny in connection with a criminal mischief complaint from Jan. 2. Berrios was identified when he left his New York State Corrections Released Inmate I.D. card inside the car he was allegedly trying to break into, police said.
The arrest was made Feb. 8 at around 10:30 p.m. by two of the precinct’s newest officers, Capt. Gregory Mackie of the 104th Precinct announced at the precinct community council meeting Tuesday.
In what Mackie said was a testament to active community involvement, the precinct got a phone call from a citizen reporting a man who was engaged in a physical altercation with another man. Officers responded immediately and one of the officers noticed that one of the males matched the description of the suspect sought in the car incidents, Mackie said. The suspect was also identified from surveillance footage.
He resisted arrest and a brief scuffle occurred, the captain said.
The thefts, which began in late December, have mostly occurred in Ridgewood, although Elmhurst and Maspeth have been struck, too. As of Feb. 3, there had been at least 25 thefts from cars, according to the COMET civic group. Some of the vehicles had their windows broken, while some car owners may have left their vehicle doors unlocked.
The crime pattern began around Dec. 28., when the front passenger door windows of four vehicles were found busted out on Centre Street near Cypress Avenue in Ridgewood in the early morning. One victim said his car was turned inside out and reported an assorted socket tool set and phone charger missing even though they were hidden in his vehicle.
“Since the arrest, thanks to our officers’ efforts, the auto breaks have subsided,” Mackie said. He did not confirm whether any thefts had taken place since the arrest.
“The common thread here is property/money left inside the vehicle,” Mackie said in a statement to the COMET civic group early this month. “Don’t leave anything inside your vehicle of value. It is just not worth it,” Mackie said. “Make sure all the doors are locked. The easiest way inside your car for a thief is through an unlocked door, and they will try all the handles until they find one that is unlocked.”
Mackie also spoke approvingly of a host of proposed laws that would give police more legal tools to shut down illicit massage parlors.
“We’re hoping that if these laws pass, it will help us spearhead the effort to get the community cleaned up,” he said.
The bills introduced by state Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) and state Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) would, among other things, require licensees to be on the premises at all times and prevent a massage parlor from obstructing the view of their lobby area.
The expansive legislation comes after a substantial increase in the number of illicit massage parlors operating in central Queens and a concerted effort from police at the 104th precinct to shut them down.
Reach reporter Gabriel Rom by e-mail at grom@
