A pair of curious cops were responsible for shutting down a burglary pattern that spanned two neighborhoods, officials said this week.
Word of the arrests came as the two arresting officers were named “Cops of the Month” at a recent 61st Precinct Community Council meeting.
Captain Joseph Veneziano, executive officer of the 61st Precinct, explained that sometimes noticing a suspicious character or activity can make all the difference when it comes to fighting crime.
That’s exactly what happened back on November 5 when Police Officers Sean Carlton and Steven Finley noticed a suspicious looking man seated in a car in the eastern end of the precinct.
The man stood out to the point that the officers went around the block and noted the make, model and license plate of the car.
A short time later, a report came over that a burglary had taken place in the same area.
As they looked into the burglary, they discovered that some of the jewelry stolen had been sold at a local pawn shop.
After checking sales records and the pawn shop’s surveillance camera, the cops learned that the man in the car was the one who had sold the stolen items.
Thanks to their earlier observations, the cops already had the suspect’s license plate number and address. The thief, as it turns out, was foolish enough to use his own car when he went out to burglarize homes, officials said.
It was only a matter of time before they arrested the thief, a parolee, for the burglary, as well as connect him to a series of other break-ins that took place in both Sheepshead Bay and Marine Park.
The thief was arrested without incident.
Burglaries in that area dropped drastically once the arrest was made, Veneziano explained, adding that the 61st Precinct saw an increase in burglaries in 2008.
“It was one of our most numerous crimes,” he said. “It’s also one of our more severe crimes because someone has violated the sanctity of your home. We’re doing everything we can to address it.”
Also honored during the last 61st Precinct Community Council meeting was Police Officer Nikolaos Stefopoulos, who was credited with the arrest of two people responsible for a series of car break-ins.
Veneziano said that Stefopoulos apprehended the two men for breaking into a car near the corner of Shore Parkway and West 2nd Street on December 10.
When he took the duo into custody, the young officer — who has just two years with the NYPD — recovered nine stolen GPS devices from the defendants vehicle, officials said.
Stefopoulos, who works the midnight to 8 a.m. shift in the 61st Precinct, was also credited for arresting a car thief on December 12, Veneziano said.
