April 7, 2017 Staff Report
A Brooklyn man has been charged with breaking in to six homes in Queens over the past six months and stealing more than $20,000 in cash, electronics and jewelry.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, 38-year-old Paul Rodriguez broke in to six homes and attempted to break in to six more throughout Sunnyside and Ridgewood between November 2016 and this month, stealing cash and valuables from each location. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
“Over the span of six months, the defendant is alleged to have brazenly busted through locked doors and windows to steal the property of others. Good police work caught the alleged serial burglar in the act of trying to swap the jewelry he’d just stolen for cash at a Brooklyn pawn shop,” Brown said.
Rodriguez allegedly left behind a screwdriver at a home he burglarized on November 4, according to the charges, and the DNA found on the tool matches his.
According to the complaint, Rodriguez broke in to a series of houses in Ridgewood, including one on March 23 when he climbed up a fire escape and stole $15,000 worth of jewelry and $2,800 in cash.
On April 5 an NYPD detective observed Rodriguez breaking in to an apartment on 48th Street in Sunnyside and leave 25 minutes later wearing gloves. He stole earrings, a nameplate, a necklace and $500 cash after prying off the deadbolt and forcing open the door. He was also observed trying to break in to four other units on 48th Street.
The police followed Rodriguez to a pawnshop on Knickerbocker Avenue in Brooklyn where he was arrested. Police recovered everything he had stolen from the 48th Street home and also found an envelope with heroin with Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has been charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree attempted burglary, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, possession of burglar’s tools, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree criminal mischief and petit larceny. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
