Feb. 25, 2016 By Michael Florio
Two officers from the 114 Precinct caught a pair of prolific robbers in the act of stealing packages in Astoria.
The two officers witnessed two men who were standing suspiciously in a private driveway near 29th Street and 21st Avenue, on Dec. 22 at 9:30 p.m. The men were removing packages and placing them in a shopping cart, according to 114th Precinct Commanding Officer Captain Peter Fortune.
The officers, Craig Zaleski and Przemyslaw Jamiolkowski, approached the two men and began questioning them.
“They were aware of the precinct’s ongoing issue with stolen packages in this area,” Fortune said. “It was quickly evident that the men were up to no good because upon questioning one of the men, they gave conflicting stories.”
Jamiolkowski recognized one of the men from surveillance footage of a previous grand larceny incident at a Rite Aid pharmacy. The officers quickly arrested the two men and reached out to the owners of the packages.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the two men were also wanted for an active investigation of a robbery of a livery cab driver, as well as 29 cases of larceny from local Rite Aids and numerous package thefts, Fortune said.
These arrests led to the officers being awarded Cops of the Month at Tuesday night’s 114 Precinct community affairs meeting.
Fortune thanked them for their “vigilance and exceptional investigation.”
