Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are still searching for a man who broke into two homes last month in Kew Gardens Hills and Murray Hill, making off with more than $10,000 in cash and jewelry.
The burglar first struck on the evening of Monday, Feb. 26, when he entered a private residence near 138th Street and 62nd Avenue in Kew Gardens Hills, just two blocks south of the Long Island Expressway. The suspect broke into the home by breaking a rear window at around 7 p.m. Once inside, he allegedly removed jewelry valued at approximately $2,000 before running off in an unknown direction, police said.
The same suspect targeted a home near Bowne Park in Murray Hill three days later. The intruder broke into a house in the vicinity of 29th Avenue and 158th Street through a rear window at around 6 p.m. and stole jewelry valued at approximately $8,700 before speeding away in a dark-colored SUV in an unknown direction.
The suspect fled the scene of the Murray Hill burglary in this SUV. Photo courtesy of the NYPD
The NYPD released a surveillance video that shows the suspect walking through an alleyway and photos of his getaway car. He was wearing a gray winter jacket, black pants, blue sneakers and a dark-colored facemask. He also wore a distinctive pair of dark gloves with green patches over the knuckles. A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Mar. 10, the 109th Precinct has reported 80 burglaries so far in 2024, 49 fewer than the 129 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 38%, according to the most recent CompStat report.