Police have released a photo of a suspect that they believe stolen thousands of dollars’ worth of doors and air vents from a Jewish cemetery on the border of Queens and Brooklyn.
According to law enforcement sources, at 4 p.m. on April 19, an unknown man was spotted at the Beth Olam Cemetery, located at 2 Cypress Hills St., removing property from the location by a 66-year-old employee. The suspect ultimately fled the scene in a vehicle in an unknown direction.
An investigation found that the thief had taken seven sets of mausoleum doors and 50 bronze mausoleum vent covers.
The vents and doors that were stolen are valued at approximately $24,000, authorities said. Police believe that the suspect was working with an unidentified female; the NYPD, however, could not provide a description of her at this time.
Two days later, a similar burglary took place at the same cemetery. At 10:45 a.m. that morning police received a report that more sets of mausoleum doors and air vent covers were taken from the cemetery.
A spokesperson from the NYPD says that they believe that the crimes are connected and will be investigating it as a pattern, as the cemetery has been the victim of multiple thefts in recent history.
The cemetery employee took a picture of the suspect in the April 19 incident, which was released by police.
Cops described the suspect as a white man in his 30s who was last seen wearing a navy blue hooded sweatshirt, dark-colored pants and black sneakers.
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of this male is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
