Quantcast

Wanted in car break-in spree

Wanted in car break-in spree
The Brooklyn Paper / Sarah Portlock

DUMBO is being plagued by a serial window-smasher and burglar who broke into at least two more cars on Monday night and has left glass littered around the newly chic neighborhood.

The perp smashed windows of two SUVs parked overnight on Anchorage Place between Plymouth and Water streets, and rummaged around the owners’ glove compartments, CD collections, and dashboard.

Cops say they have a suspect, a career criminal who was last arrested on July 8 for assault and grand larceny, and has a long rap sheet filled with similar crimes.

The same suspect was released from jail on July 24 — just before the latest spate of break-ins. Now cops are preparing to round up their usual suspect.

“He’s known for break-ins like this,” the cop said.

The man’s name is being withheld as a matter of policy by The Brooklyn Paper until his lawyer can be contacted or he is charged in the latest cases.

But that policy doesn’t apply to one local resident, who has taken it upon him or herself to cover a Water Street wall with the name of a suspect.

That mural, between Bridge and Gold streets, claims that Darren “Squarehead” Stone is behind the break-ins and encourages residents with any information to e-mail waterstreetwindowsmash@hotmail.com.

The resident wrote on the DumboNYC.com Web site that he or she was a victim of a car break-in in March. He said he watched the man break into his car and chased him until he dropped the ill-gotten booty.

Area business owners and residents said the crimes are still shocking, even if it isn’t the first time perps have trolled around the neighborhood.

“Every now and again it will stop and it will start up again,” said Mario DeMaio, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 50 years. “It’s been going on for years, and it’s not just because the area is [gentrifying now].”

Several years ago, a perp broke into DeMaio’s van and stole his tools, but DeMaio later found the guy peddling the loot outside a bodega.

A serial window smasher is running rampant in DUMBO. Blue glass from the broken windows litters sidewalks in the neighborhood.
The Brooklyn Paper / Sarah Portlock

Cops are asking residents with any information on the crimes — or if they are victims themselves — to call the 84th Precinct at (718) 875-6811.