POLICE BEAT

For crime: If at first you don’t succeed...

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… try, try, try again. 

An alleged thief put those words into action, starting at about 1:30 p.m., on Oct. 14, when he reportedly pilfered items from a TJ Maxx at 171 W. 230th St. 

Another man spotted him doing the deed and tried to stop him, according to police with the 50th Precinct, but not before the 39-year-old allegedly made off with the stolen goods. 

Not to be deterred, the perp pushed the bystander and ran, damaging the sliding front door entryway to the store on his way out, police said. The whole thing was caught on camera, but the incident wasn’t reported until Oct. 16. Soon after, the alleged burglar was arrested.

And still, he refused to give up. On Oct. 18, the same man reportedly returned to try and take more items from the store. And again, he was arrested.

 

Way too free ride

The New York Police Department recommends people not walk away from their cars, leaving them unattended with the engines running. Yet, not everyone heeds that advice. 

On the night of Oct. 19, a 40-year-old woman got out of her 2015 black Mazda and did just that, leaving her vehicle in front of the 60 block of West Kingsbridge Road. It wasn’t there long before police said someone seized the opportunity, hopped in and drove away. 

Investigators valued the car at $26,000.

 

Burglary while you sleep

Some people are light sleepers. Others have an uncanny ability to enjoy quality shut-eye through noise, tumult, activity of all sorts … even when their home is getting burglarized. 

Such was the case for a 46-year-old woman who was taking an afternoon nap Oct. 21 when two people — a 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman — reportedly walked into her Broadway apartment while she slumbered. The duo took $400 in cash, an iPad, a Kenneth Cole watch worth $250, and $25,000 worth of jewelry, police said. In fact, they left carrying numerous bags. 

Police said a third person, a 28-year-old man, also was in the apartment during the heist. 

Officers responded to a 911 call, canvassed the area, and apprehended the alleged burglars on the sixth floor of the building next door, arresting them. 

Both were charged with burglary.

 

Fire escape burglar

Fire escapes can save lives, but they also can be a quick passageway into a home. 

A 47-year-old man learned that the hard way at the 100 block of West 197th Street when he told police someone crawled through his rear bedroom window from the fire escape at midnight on Oct. 18. 

The alleged burglar was quite busy, taking passports, permanent resident cards, Social Security cards, three iPhone 7s that police valued at $2,400, an Apple Watch worth $400, two iPads worth $800, six pairs of sneakers worth $900 …  and, if that wasn’t enough, $300 in cash.

 

Door just not so impenetrable now

This door took one for the company.

Two burglars reportedly took a crowbar to the door of the Goodman Management Company at 3220 Fairfield Ave., on Oct. 21 at 3:45 p.m., prying it open under the wide view of a security camera. 

The 58-year-old worker who called in the crime said no property was removed, however, and the front door handle and lock were destroyed.

Police have classified the break-in as a burglary, and are still investigating.

Police Beat, Zak Kostro