Police need the public’s help in finding a serial burglar who hit more than a dozen homes in Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights since April.
The NYPD released on June 5 video and photo footage of the suspect buying refreshments at a Corona bodega on April 26, moments after he allegedly burglarized a home in the area of 48th Avenue and 108th Street.
Most of the incidents occurred during daytime hours, between 6 a.m. and 12:20 p.m., with the perpetrator getting inside each residence through windows. Over the course of the 13 burglaries, law enforcement sources said, the crook removed more than $100,000 in cash, jewelry and electronics.
The burglaries, as the NYPD reported, are as follows:
- At 6:30 a.m. on April 3, the burglar entered a home in the area of 35th Avenue and 102nd Street in Corona through an unlocked rear window and stole more than $6,600 in jewelry and purses.
- At 8:40 a.m. on April 11, the bandit entered a home in the same area through an unlocked rear window and removed a laptop computer worth $400.
- At 7 a.m. on April 20, the suspect forced his way through a locked window into a home in the vicinity of 42nd Avenue and 111th Street in Corona and stole $18,000 worth of jewelry.
- At 12:15 p.m. on April 20, the perpetrator got into a home in the vicinity of Roosevelt Avenue and 89th Street in Jackson Heights through an open window and stole $7,470 in cellular devices.
- At 10 a.m. on April 26, the burglar returned to Corona and entered a home in the area of 48th Avenue and 108th Street, forcing open a locked rear window. He then removed $25,000 in cash, along with $3,000 in jewelry.
- At 11 a.m. on May 2, the bandit got into a home in the area of 37th Avenue and 95th Street through an unlocked rear window and stole $600 in jewelry and $900 in camera equipment.
- At 6 a.m. on May 7, the suspect entered a home in the vicinity of 37th Avenue and 88th Street by pushing an air conditioner out of a side window. He proceeded to steal $600 in cash and $27,000 in jewelry.
- At 8 a.m. on May 14, the crook entered a home in the area of 100th Street and 40th Road through an unlocked bedroom window and stole $18,000 in property.
- At 9 a.m. on May 23, the perpetrator entered a home in the vicinity of 37th Avenue and 108th Street through an unlocked front door and stole a Samsung S5 smartphone.
- At 11:20 a.m. on May 23, the burglar got into a home in the area of 36th Avenue and 108th Street, forcing open a locked front door, and stole $900 in cash.
- At 12:20 p.m. on May 23, he broke into another home in the area of 39th Avenue and 102nd Street, breaking through a locked front door, and removed $9,700 in cash along with $4,000 in camera equipment.
- At 11:30 p.m. on May 23, the bandit broke through a locked window of a home in the area of 37th Avenue and 108th Street and stole $490 in cash.
- At 12:10 p.m. on May 29, the suspect broke through a locked rear window in the area of Britton Avenue and Hampton Street in Elmhurst and stole $1,300 in electronics.
Police described the suspect as a white or Hispanic man between 18 and 25 years of age, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds; he sports a tattoo on his neck. As shown in the security camera footage, the burglar was last seen wearing a black-and-red Cincinnati Reds baseball cap, a red jacket, a red shirt and blue jeans.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA), visit the Crime Stoppers website or send a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
