Cat burglar prowls local stores
It has been weeks since a roof-climbing burglar has struck in the neighborhood, but area businesses are still baffled by the incidents.
“He got in from the A.C. [on the roof],” said Alhaji Bah, the assistant manager of a discount store on West 231st Street and Broadway that was targeted in September.
Gazing at the damaged ceiling in the center of the store one afternoon earlier this month, Mr. Bah asked, “How did he get to the roof to come straight inside to open the register, take the money and the phone cards by himself? I was completely surprised.”
Though he himself did not discover the break-in, Mr. Bar said the manager of the business opened the store one morning to find a portion of the interior ceiling completely destroyed. The owner told police that the thief stole money from the register and safe. Phone cards were also missing from the store, but police could not confirm how many phone cards were taken.
Mr. Bar said that while the business had surveillance cameras, it was hard to get a glimpse of the suspect, who was described as a stocky, short man dressed entirely in black.
Police said that so far this year, the perpetrator has burglarized 11 businesses, with the most recent break-in occurring last month.
According to police, on Oct. 15, the perpetrator broke into a laundromat on West 231st Street from the roof and removed $560 from the cash register and coin machines.
“What he does is go on the rooftops and slide down the air vent [or] skylight,” explained Deputy Inspector Paul Rasa, the commanding officer of the 50th Precinct, during a Nov. 13 community council meeting. “He jumps in and goes right to the cash register.”
Police said that the burglar also broke into a Latin restaurant on Bailey Avenue at the end of September and stole $100 from the register and $1,500 from the safe.
Weeks before, the perpetrator burglarized a nail salon on West 231st Street on Sept. 8, entering from a skylight on the roof, stealing $200 from the register.
“I was scared,” said the salon’s owner, Jenny Can, who added that she could not imagine why a burglar would want to hit her small business. “It’s a nail salon.”
After the burglar broke into Ms. Can’s salon, he punched a hole through a wall made of sheetrock on the right side of the entrance to break into a Chinese restaurant next door, where the owners said he made off with about $150.
“It’s a big hole, big enough for one person,” said restaurant owner Lily Li. “The owner next door called me. She saw a hole in the wall. Of course, I was scared.”
Keywords
Commercial Burglaries, Skylight, Rooftop, Air Vent, Burglary
