Police from the 108th Precinct in Long Island City are looking for a burglar who targeted the Apex Technical School twice, hauling away nearly $90,000 in copper pipes and fittings.
The suspect first targeted the state-of-the-art facility at 11-05 44th Dr. on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 14, when he forcibly pried open the front door at around 9:30 p.m. using “burglary tools” he also used to remove copper pipes and fittings valued at approximately $45,000 before using an unknown method of flight in an unknown direction, an NYPD spokesman said Tuesday.
The burglar repeated the same method on the night of Friday, Nov. 7, this time taking copper pipes and fittings worth approximately $42,000, police said.
Copper is a popular target for thieves because the metal is lightweight and has a very high scrap metal value, soaring to over $4 a pound for the first time in more than a decade, according to experts.
The NYPD released a surveillance image of the suspect captured during his second heist at the Hunters Point location, describing him as having a medium complexion with a beard and mustache. He wore a black durag and a dark hooded sweatshirt.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.
Anyone with information regarding these burglaries 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 strictly confidential.
Through Nov. 16, the 108th Precinct has reported 199 burglaries so far in 2025, 18 fewer than the 217 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 8.3%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
