By Patrick Donachie
A Brooklyn man has been charged with burglary after being shot during a struggle with an NYPD officer during a burglary attempt in Maspeth, according to the NYPD.
Feliz Perez, 37, was charged with burglary, criminal possession of stolen property and resisting arrest, according to police. Police said he had six prior burglary convictions and was suspected in a series of Maspeth burglaries, as well.
At about 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, officers from the 104th Precinct responded to a 911 call about an attempted burglary at 55-38 66th St. near the corner of 66th Street and Hull Road, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, who held a press conference a block away from the house where the incident occurred Monday afternoon.
The woman who lives in the first floor apartment of the residence had seen a man burglarizing her home via a remote camera feed. She met the responding uniformed officers outside, and the police entered her apartment, according to the NYPD.
One of the officers encountered Perez after he entered the home, according to police. The officer and Perez struggled, and one round from the officer’s weapon was discharged during the clash, Boyce said. At one point, the woman who called 911 returned to her apartment, and police speculated she was trying to retrieve her dog from the scene.
During the struggle, Perez was shot in the groin and fled the building, but officers caught him about one block away in a backyard, police said.
At about the same time, police found a 36-year-old woman lying in a driveway about three-quarters of a block away from where the attempted burglary took place. She was suffering from a laceration to the head. She was taken to Elmhurst Hospital for treatment and was listed in stable condition.
Initial reports indicated that she may have been a second gunshot victim, but during surgery at the hospital, doctors removed a small piece of wire cable from beneath her scalp. Boyce said similar pieces of cable were found in the driveway where the woman was found.
After the shooting, Perez was taken to Flushing Hospital and was also listed in stable condition. He was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday evening. The police said the investigation was still ongoing. The officers also were speaking with the female victim found down the block from the scene to determine how her injury occurred.
According to Boyce, the officer whose weapon was fired had 10 years on the force and served in the 104th Precinct. He was not identified.
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
