The Glendale Civic Association and its Facebook page helped cops collar a man who allegedly tried to break into at least four houses and cars along a few blocks of 78th Street in Glendale at the beginning of the month.
On May 1, neighbors on 78th Street between Myrtle and 77th avenues saw something suspicious.
An unfamiliar young man was walking up the block, testing handles and knocking on doors.
That’s when they called police, said Kathy Masi, who chairs the neighborhood’s civic association.
Masi first learned of the incident when it appeared on the Facebook page she runs dedicated to the Glendale Civic.
Rita McGarry, who lives in Glendale, posted, “A neighbor and I saw a suspicious person this [morning] on our street ringing doorbells and trying car door handles, and at one point he spent several minutes in a neighbors backyard. …”
McGarry and her neighbor immediately dialed 911 and police nabbed the suspect—a 22-year-old who lives in a nearby neighborhood.
Capt. Michael Cody, who leads the area’s precinct, said his men caught Joseph Ancona that morning, but the police and civic association didn’t stop there.
McGarry posted another message on Facebook: “Update: I’ve been in touch with the arresting officers today and they told me that when they arrested him, he had stolen property on him, iPods and such. In addition, he had a knife.”
“He is previously known to the precinct, so they are hoping to build a stronger case against him this time in order to keep him off the streets for a while. In order to do this, they must know about every possible crime he attempted or committed,” she continued. “If anyone has been a victim of an auto break-in in the past few weeks, please, please, make a police report. The more the police know the better they can help us.”
McGarry was right, Cody said. Ancona had been previously arrested for an alleged attempted burglary just two months earlier.
After McGarry’s post, community members started coming forward, posting their break-in stories on
Facebook and filing police reports.
Cody said he happened to glance at the Glendale Civic Association’s Facebook page after his officers made the arrest.
When he saw the stories popping up, he sent a team of two sergeants from the 104th to comb through the neighborhood taking statements from witnesses who saw anything suspicious.
“It was all due to, pretty much, cooperation with the community,” Cody said. “The Facebook page certainly helped out.”
The boots-on-the-ground work connected Ancona to crimes or attempted crimes all within a block of each other on 78th Street.
Cody said Ancona also had stolen electronics on him when the cops picked him up, which police traced back to their rightful owner on 78th Street.
He also allegedly was carrying a switchblade.
Overall, Ancona was charged with three counts of attempted burglary, two counts of criminal mischief, two counts of petit larceny, six counts of criminal trespassing and possession of stolen property.
Cody said he was currently in jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.
“Hopefully he won’t see the light of day for a while,” the captain said.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
j.dobruck@theforumnewsgroup.com
