Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz secured an indictment against a Brooklyn man who was criminally charged with multiple counts of burglary in a mail theft spree that targeted six apartment buildings in Lindenwood beginning on Christmas Day and continuing into the new year.
Oliver Rodriguez, 26, of Autumn Avenue in Cypress Hills near the Queens border, was arraigned Thursday on a 25-count indictment charging him with burglary, petit larceny and possession of a burglar’s tools.
According to the charges, on the morning of Dec. 25, Rodriguez approached 87-10 149th Ave. at 8:39 a.m. and forced open a locked front door of the apartment building with a screwdriver. He entered the mail room, where he put several packages into a bag before leaving. Approximately 15 minutes later, Rodriguez approached another apartment building at 149-30 88th St., and forced open the front door with a screwdriver. He took several packages from the mailroom. Approximately five minutes later, at around 9 a.m., Rodriguez forced open the front door of 151-20 88th St., where he pried open mailboxes and took their contents.
Two days later, Rodriguez was back in Lindenwood on Dec. 27, where he forced his way into 151-40 88th St. at around 2:20 a.m. He again forced open mailboxes and took their contents.
On Dec. 31, at approximately 2:20 p.m., Rodriguez returned to 87-10 149th Ave., where he again took several packages from the mailroom.
On Jan. 3, at around 1:30 p.m., he went back to the same building for a third time, where he forced open the front door with an unknown tool and took packages from the mailroom and, about an hour later, Rodriguez grabbed a package in front of a resident’s door at 89-35 155th St.
Rodriguez returned to Lindenwood during the morning of Thursday, Jan. 8, where he pried open the front door of 88-29 155th Ave. just before 5:00 a.m. Once inside, Rodriguez took several packages that he found in the lobby before he got into an elevator, where he stuffed the contents of the packages into his pockets before leaving the building.
The NYPD arrested Rodriguez on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 14.
“We are charging that the defendant spoiled Christmas for many families, depriving them of timely, important communications and gifts they spent hard-earned money to buy,” Katz said. “The mail thefts also violated their sense of safety.”
Queens Criminal Court Judge Quynda Santacroce ordered Rodriguez remanded into custody with a return date on Mar. 7. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
