The NYPD is still looking for a masked-up burglar who allegedly broke into eight commercial businesses and stole more than $14,000 in cash during an 11-day stretch in August primarily in Bayside and Flushing.
The suspect started his one-man crime spree in Little Neck in the confines of the 111th Precinct in Bayside when entered a business located at 254-11 Northern Blvd. through a rear window just before 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Once inside, the burglar allegedly removed approximately $100 in cash from a drawer before running off.
The perpetrator struck again two days later at around 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, when he entered the rear door of a business at 210-03 Northern Boulevard in Bayside. He took approximately $340 from a cash register before leaving. The following morning, he hit a business across Corporal Kennedy Street from his second burglary when he entered 209-35 Northern Blvd. at 4:15 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10. He removed $600 from a cash register and left, but around a half-hour later, he broke into another store in the same complex, located at 209-35 Northern Blvd. but he got spooked and left empty-handed, police said.
On the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 14, the suspect moved south to Glen Oaks, where he entered the rear door of a business located at 253-23 Union Turnpike at around 3:30 a.m. He removed approximately $650 before running off in an unknown direction.
After his brief visit to the 105th Precinct in Queens Village, the suspect headed back towards Northern Boulevard, where he targeted three businesses on a commercial strip in Murray Hill during the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 18, in the 109th Precinct in Flushing.
At around 3:45 a.m., the suspect forced open a door at Hainan, a Korean-Chinese restaurant at 41-25 162nd St. and removed $6,500 in cash from a safe before leaving. Then, at 4:15 a.m., he hit a business next door at 41-23 162nd St., where he took $1,000 from a cash register and left. About ten minutes later, he hit his last commercial establishment, forcing open a rear door at 41-19 162nd St. and removing approximately $5,000 from the cash register.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect on Saturday and described him as having a dark complexion. In one photo, he was dressed in all black, with white gloves with blue fingers, gray sneakers, and a black facemask. In the other photo, the suspect wore a gray North Face hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, gray sneakers, a black backpack, and a light-colored face covering.
The suspect remains at large, and a reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest.
Anyone with information regarding this burglary spree is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Oct. 6, the 111th Precinct has reported 225 burglaries so far in 2024, nine fewer than the 234 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 3.8%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
Through Oct. 6, the 109th Precinct has reported 314 burglaries so far this year, 110 fewer than the 424 reported during the same point in 2023, a decrease of 25.9%, according to CompStat.
Through Oct. 6, the 105th Precinct has reported 135 robberies so far in 2024, 43 fewer than the 177 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 23.7%, according to CompStat.
