Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria are looking for a burglar who, late last month, went on a one-man crime spree and targeted four restaurants in just over a week.
Police say the first break-in occurred on the night of Monday, July 21, when the suspect entered 33-01 36th Ave. through an unlocked window at around 11:10 p.m. and removed $500 in cash from the register and fled the restaurant on foot in an unknown direction, police said.
The same perpetrator hit another restaurant during the early morning hours of Sunday, July 27, when he entered a restaurant at 35-57 Crescent St. in Dutch Kills. Once again, he climbed in through an unlocked window and removed $100 from the cash register before running off in an unknown direction, police said.
The following morning, the suspect climbed through an unlocked window and gained entrance to a Bareburger, located at 33-21 31st Ave. just after 4:20 a.m., and he allegedly removed a cash register, which contained just $2 before fleeing in an unknown direction, police said.
The man struck once more on the night of Tuesday, July 29, when he smashed a window and entered an eatery at 42-20 30th Ave. at around 11:30 p.m. and took a cash register, which contained $300, before running off in an unknown direction. No one was injured during any of the burglaries.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect who is seen carrying a metal folding stool, which he likely used to climb through the windows, and other shots show him rifling through a cash register or taking it with him. He is also seen on video surveillance walking down a sidewalk holding the same metal folding stool.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.
Anyone with information regarding this burglary investigation 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 at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are confidential.
Through July 27, the 114th Precinct has reported 119 burglaries so far in 2025, three more than the 116 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 2.6%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
