Brazen Burglar Hits Two “75s”

By on October 10, 2012 11:57 pm in Brooklyn Heights, crime, News, Police Blotter, Real Estate

Police are looking for this man who is wanted for burglarizing an astonishing seven apartments in the Heights early Friday morning.

The first five incidents occurred at 75 Henry St. between 4:30 A.M. and 6:00 A.M. on October 5, where the suspect allegedly gained entry to five apartments, each time being caught in the act by occupants.

Deciding to try his luck elsewhere, he moved south to 75 Livingston St., where surveillance footage shows him entering the lobby past a guard and boarding the elevator.  He attempted to hit two apartments in this building between 6:25 A.M. and 6:35 A.M., but was again thwarted.

No property was taken in any of the incidents.

 

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  • Mr. Crusty

    Shame he didn’t try to burglarize my apartment, the problem would have been solved.

  • JV

    How did he not get caught if he was actually caught on all attempts? How did he get into the actual apartments? So many questions. Hope that guard lost his job!

  • Jdf

    @JV, You raise good questions that as a resident of 75 Henry, I have been wondering, as well. Also, If he were really in the building for an hour and a half and walked right past the doorman to enter, what happened afterward? Was there a delay in calling 911 by the doorman for some reason (i.e. a lack of recognition that a burglar had entered the building) or an extremely poor response by the 84th precinct?

  • Hole Truth

    84th doesn’t care about the Heights. Time to flood our electeds with calls in protest!

  • Still Here

    Nice that you have 24 hours coverage on the door. Outrageous.

  • Mr. Crusty

    @hole Truth. What an asinine comment.

  • dobrorocks

    sounds like a big question mark as to where the doormen/ guards are.

  • David on Middagh

    He must be a pretty good “social engineer” to back his way out of so many “Oops, does Mark live here? I’m so sorry. Very sorry. The door was open…” situations. Or whatever he told the occupants.

  • Hicks St Guy

    maybe he was sleepwalking.

  • Mr. Crusty

    I’m stumped on this one as well and I was a cop for 20 years. How the hell does he gain entry to 5 occupied apartments? Didn’t the first occupant immediately call the police? The 2nd? How could he continue to break into apartments? How did he gain entry? Apartment doors are pretty secure and it would take time and noise unless he had keys to the apartments.

    Burgler’s don’t generally break into apartments in the middle of the night when they are likely to be occupied. That is a very dangerous thing to do. Daytime burglaries are far more prevalent.

    Something here just doesn’t smell right. This can’t be accurate as reported.

  • shamrock

    This is baffling. There has to be more to this story. Will be interested in hearing more details.

  • bronxkid

    Inside job?

  • stuart

    I find this story completely baffling.
    Did he walk into unlocked apartments?
    Past the doorman?
    Was he wearing a Harry Potter invisibility cloak?

  • Bette

    Aren’t many people leaving for work and walking out of their buildings to walk their dogs at around 6am? Didn’t anyone wonder why a non-tenant was walking in when they were walking out?

    Did someone (or many people) hold the door open for him?

    One photo shows the building door propped open – I assume the guard opened it when he arrived, and then perhaps left his post? Incredible timing on the part of the crook. Or perhaps planned?

    Add me to the list of curious readers.

  • BH’er

    how did he get into 7 apartments? are people not locking their doors?

    and no one called the cops? this story sounds a bit strange… if someone showed up in my apt at 6am uninvited, I wouldn’t just ask him to let himself out

    but he just went down the hall?

  • BH’er

    good video here:
    http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=336325&position=1&news_type=news

    doorman gives him a good look on the way in and says, “” – that’s right… nothing!

  • Gerry

    @ Mr. Crusty – most law enforcement proffessionals call themselves Police Officers and NOT cops you have claimed that you were a “cop” and on this blog you have also claimed that you are an FBI Agent we suspect that you were never a police officer or a Federal agent that this is a fantasy of yours.

  • Mr. Crusty

    The story in DNAinfo.com says:

    “The man began his predawn burglary spree at 75 Henry St. at 4:30 a.m., police said. The burglar broke into five apartments there over the next 90 minutes — but came away empty-handed because a tenant was home each time, police said.

    Undeterred, the suspect bounced over to 75 Livingston St., where he tried to burglarize two more homes. Those burglary attempts failed, too, because someone was in those homes, cops said”

    http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121011/brooklyn-heights/cops-hunt-suspect-seven-attempted-burglaries-brooklyn-heights

    How the hell could he spend 90 minutes in 75 Henry Street while being confronted by the residents of 5 apartments he apparently managed to gain entry to? Didn’t ANYBODY call the police? Did the police not respond? Again, this story just makes no sense to me. Does anybody know anyone at 75 Henry that can clarify?

  • Mr. Crusty

    This guy had to have keys to the apartments. No other way he could have gotten into 7 apartments so easily. I hope the two buildings involved are doing an internal investigation of their key security policies. Disgruntled worker making copies of keys perhaps?

  • HenryLoL

    I hear that the doors were unlocked (a lot of people in doorman buildings leave their doors unlocked – you’d be surprised) and that he RAN past the doorman (at 75H, anyway). I think he ran out a back exit while the police were on upper floors looking for him.

    This is not an uncommon occurance in NYC. When I was a kid someone walked into my house twice with some odd excuse like they were looking for ‘Joe.’

  • Penny Bridge

    I agree with Mr. Crusty, not his attitude but his thoughts about keys and security. It would appear that this guy knew the buildings and hopefully the police will follow up. Mr. Crusty, call some of your former colleagues.

  • jdf

    What I heard is similar to HenryLoL. Still begs the question as to when the polcie were called, how long it took them to respond and why there wasn’t a bigger response by the 84 to cover the entrances/exits of the building while other officers are doing a vertical of the building. An hour and a half is an awful long time in building.

  • Knight

    @HenryLoL & jdf: apparently you heard wrong, because the video at DNAinfo.com (link is in Mr. Crusty’s 6:45am post above) clearly shows the would-be burglar walking calmly past the security guard at 75 Henry and into the elevator.

    I also can’t agree with jdf regarding the response of the 84th precinct. On this week’s Open Thread Wednesday, “PBL” notes that there were “10 or so police cars surrounding the place.” How much more of a response can one honestly expect? The real questions are what time the police were called and how long it took the “10 or so” cars to get there.

  • Mr. Crusty

    @HenryLoL your post leaves more questions than answers.

    Can the apartment doors at 75 Henry Street even be left unlocked? Don’t they lock automatically when they close? Who would keep their apt door unlocked doorman building or not?

    If he RAN past the doorman upon entering 75H the police should have been called immediately and secured the building (covered the exits so he couldn’t leave undetected)

    If the police didn’t cover the exits when they were looking for him on the upper floors they really dropped the ball

  • jdf

    @Knight, The video is from Livingston, not Henry. To clarify, I heard walked briskly, not ran.

  • Gerry

    This leaves me feeling vulnerable with young children and a nanny at home alone a large part of the day and this criminal running in the neighborhood I am anxious. We have a video surveilance system that shoots an angle of Montague Terrace and Remsen Street I wonder if the NYPD would find this useful? maybe the criminal came this way so many people enter The Promenade via Remsen Street.

  • Kevin

    “Can the apartment doors at 75 Henry Street even be left unlocked? Don’t they lock automatically when they close?”

    you can push a button and the “slam lock” will not … err. lock.. so you can go to the trash without a key…

    makes little sense to me.. my door will stay open if not shut but just take a key anyway ok?

    also people who grew up with little to steal and plenty of friends in the building tend not to lock the door…

  • Peanut

    I am one who leaves a door unlocked in our doorman building. Rethinking that.

  • Mr. Crusty

    Lock your doors boys and girls. You live in a big city not East Bumf**k.

  • NRA

    I got 357 good reasons not to be afraid of this guy.

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