Cops say they caught the guy responsible for a string of Clinton Hill car break-ins red-handed, but the smashing and grabbing has not ceased.
Police charged the 48-year-old they arrested with four of the 14 auto burglaries that took place in the last month, all in the vicinity of Saint Joseph’s College, but the other 10 are unsolved and the thefts continued after the suspect was pinched, cops said. The incidents all occurred overnight and police report the suspect is a known no-goodnik with a rap sheet a mile long.
“He’s a recidivist,” said a spokesman for the neighborhood’s 88th Precinct. “He’s known to the precinct.”
The bust came in the early morning of March 3 after cops received a 911 call from a neighbor who saw a car window get bashed in on Clinton Avenue. Cops say they found the man on the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Adelphi Street with a cut on his hand and broken glass in his pocket. He was also carrying a gym bag that contained various pieces of pilfered loot, according to police. The same man was arrested a week prior for another burglary and possession of crack cocaine, prosecutors said.
But police are stressing that the fellow in custody is not responsible for all the thefts, pointing out that a vehicle burglary occurred in the same area after they popped him and reminding residents that the best way to avoid being victimized is to keep valuables out of sight.
“If there’s an opportunity for someone to steal something, they’ll take advantage of that,” the precinct’s spokesman said.
Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo (D–Clinton Hill) is hosting a town hall forum at Saint Joseph’s College on March 14 to get the word out about how to stay safe and to give residents a chance to talk with police about the problem.
“We all must do our part and ‘say something,’” Cumbo said in a statement.
Town hall meeting at Saint Joseph’s College auditorium (245 Clinton Ave. between Dekalb and Willoughby avenues in Clinton Hill). March 14 at 8 pm.
