By Mark Hallum
A Brooklyn man caught on security footage attempting to break into a Bayside home was convicted last week and possibly faces up to seven years behind bars, according to the Queens district attorney.
Fabio Abreu, 26, was caught on camera by the Bayside resident’s Ring.com cam, which alerts homeowners when somebody is in their turf with video footage available in real time on smart phones. The victim of the burglary attempt posted the image on Facebook after contacting police, which led to Abreu’s capture, the DA said.
“This defendant attempted to break into a private residence that was prepared and waiting for his arrival,” Brown said. “As the defendant jumped over a locked fence, looked in multiple windows and attempted to open the back door, all of his actions were being recorded on a home video system. Stills from the video were later uploaded to a social media site which resulted in his apprehension and conviction.”
Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Gene Lopez convicted Abreu of second-degree attempted burglary and third-degree criminal trespass
Cameras in the backyard captured Abreu hopping the fence into the victim’s backyard on 223rd Street and attempting to open windows and doors. When the defendant saw the cameras, he went back over the fence and made a move for the front door in an attempt to cover his tracks, Brown said.
The error of going to the front door sealed Abreu’s fate as the Ring.com doorbell camera snapped a definitive image of his face and alerted the homeowner on the smart phone app.
Abreu’s countenance was posted on a community Facebook page and he was spotted the next day in a park, the DA said.
Ring.com also allows people to speak to the person at their front door through a speaker on the doorbell camera and offers a broad array of tools from homeowners to protect their property.
Burglaries are a perennial problem in the 111th Precinct with community affairs officers briefing the public at community board meetings on a regular basis on how to prevent being the victim of such crimes.
Nov. 20 saw seven businesses on Bell Boulevard broken into from the back by two individuals on the same day and included Sterling Pharmacy which lost bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
Two weeks prior, an elderly couple had been the victim of a home invasion.
Between Nov. 4 and Nov. 29, a man in a black suit, seen on security footage, broke into multiple homes stealing cash and jewelry.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
