An East Elmhurst man was arrested in connection to a string of Whitestone burglaries

A 25-year-old man was arrested in connection to a string of Whitestone burglaries after being caught in the middle of his latest attempted break-in on Tuesday, according to police.

Police sources say Michael Silva, of East Elmhurst, was captured after trying to break into a residence by prying into a rear window at 9:45 a.m on 32nd Avenue and 165th Street on the outskirts of Flushing.

According to a statement on the official Facebook page of the 109th Precinct Community Council, Silva was apprehended after a resident of the street observed him ringing the doorbell of the residence to determine that no one was home. The observant neighbor confronted the suspect as he was trying to gain entry into the home and chased him away as another neighbor called 911.

Silva was apprehended five blocks away by a good Samaritan and placed into custody of the 109th Precinct. He was charged with felony burglary and possession of burglar’s tools.

Some tools a thief used to commit burglaries in #Whitestone. Along with his tools, we have him as well! #Partnership pic.twitter.com/yuqBXLng7v

— NYPD 109th Precinct (@NYPD109Pct) March 2, 2016

“Inspector Conforti couldn’t stress enough how the strong bond between the community, the 109, and social media helped put this problem to bed very swiftly,” the Facebook statement read. “He wanted to thank everyone for being vigilant with the information he shared and to also let you know that the officers of the 109 are dedicated to serving these communities.”

According to the 109th Precinct Community Council, Silva has also been implicated in several other recent burglaries within the precinct.

Police sources confirm that on the day of Silva’s capture, he was also booked in connection for a burglary that occurred at 19th Avenue and 150th Street on the morning of Feb. 26.

In this incident, the suspect also banged on front door and rear door to make sure no one was home before breaking a rear basement window with unknown object to enable his entry. Silva was able to flee after he realized that someone was in fact still in the house and had seen him going into the basement.

He was later arrested on charges of burglary, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal mischief and criminal trespass.

According to a previous statement on the 109th Precinct Community Council Facebook page, Silva is also being considered as a suspect in a string of other burglaries in Whitestone for which he has not yet been charged. These incidents include five residential burglaries dating from Feb. 16 that occurred in a small area between 146th Place and 150th Street from 14th Avenue to 20th Avenue.