String of Burglaries in Boro Park

By Matis Glenn

Boro Park was hit with a series of six burglaries last week, five of which are believed to have been perpetrated by the same suspect, Shmira tells Hamodia.

On Motzoei Rosh Hashanah at around 4am, a man entered Lew Imports clothing store on 51st Street between 13th and 14th Avenues, making off with $2,300 in cash, according to the NYPD. police say that the suspect is known, but did not release his name. At 5am, the suspect entered Miri’s Chic de Paris, on the same block, removing $660 in cash and checks from the store. The same night, the managers of two apartment buildings on 16th Avenue and 55th Street reported break-ins to Shmira, who say that the perpetrator appears to be the same person.

The suspect returned to Lew Imports early Shabbos morning, at around 3:40am, and was caught on video nabbing a necklace valued at $100. His face is clearly shown.

Later that day, at around 5am, a different suspect burglarized China Glatt restaurant, on 44th Street and 13th Avenue, stealing $700 in cash, an undetermined amount of money in checks, and an iPad.

The thief seems to have been familiar with the layout of the store, coming in through an unlocked window on the third floor, in the back of the restaurant, which he reached by climbing up a fire escape.

He entered an office on that floor, breaking through the door; he knew where to find the internet router, disabling it along with the restaurant’s Ring camera. He also knew where the other cameras were, and turned them off before exiting.

A door broken in the office at China Glatt

Unlike the suspect in the other five burglaries, the restaurant thief caused serious damage to his target. “The guy ransacked the place,” Shmira told Hamodia. From the third floor, he made his way down to the ground-level, where he reached the cash register and ordering area by removing a door from its frame and shattering glass that impeded his way. He rummaged through the counter, plied open the drawer of the cash register, scattered papers all around. Pushkas were cracked open and emptied. He proceeded to rifle through the kitchen and basement.

Despite the extensive damage, it doesn’t appear that the thief destroyed the property out of rage, because the dining area was completely untouched. Rather, the NYPD told Shmira that the thief was likely looking for something of value, such as a safe.

The owner does not believe that the suspect is a current or former employee, despite the indications that he was familiar with the building.

While the other suspect did nothing to hide his appearance, the China Glatt thief was very adept at hiding his identity.

“He took great effort to hide himself. He was covered from head to toe, wearing gloves, and had clothing tied around his head, with not even his eyes showing,” Shmira said.

Suspect in the China Glatt burglary

At one point during the theft, the suspect’s face covering fell off, and was caught on camera, though the image is blurry.

Shmira is currently combing through footage of street cameras to find where the suspect came from and where he went afterwards.

On Motzoei Shabbos, at around 10pm, a burglary was attempted on 13th Avenue between 46th and 47th Street, but the suspect was unable to break through the lock on the door.

Police are searching for all three men at this time.

“We urge the community to remain vigilant,” Yossi Leifer, a Coordinator for Shmira says. “lock all doors and windows, and don’t assume that thieves won’t come in during a short span of time. When many in our community are going away for Yom Tov, never underestimate these perpetrators. Make sure that the house does not look vacant; have a relative come in and turn on a light. It’s a fact that these thieves take advantage of our community; our hotline is blowing up from calls of thefts. Crime is on the rise, and we need to do as much as we can to make these criminals leave our area.”

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!