Photo: Cops last week caught up to alleged Cross Bay Boulevard burglar Keith Kolm in Hamilton Beach. Forum Photo.
That was quick.
Hours after the latest edition of The Forum hit neighborhood lawns and stoops last Thursday, cops slapped the cuffs on Keith Kolm, the notorious Hamilton Beach resident whose wanted poster graced the cover of the newspaper.
Detectives had been looking for Kolm, 25, for weeks for his alleged role in April burglaries on Cross Bay Boulevard. Investigators believe he’s responsible for stealing an automated teller machine out of a Key Food store, and sought to question Kolm regarding an incident at a KFC restaurant in which a safe was stolen and an ATM ransacked.
Kolm actually had a hand in his own demise. According to police, last Thursday afternoon, he allegedly made a bogus 911 call from his cell phone in Hamilton Beach alerting authorities to “an undercover cop being beaten” at Linden Boulevard and 135th Avenue.
“A 1013 call—police officer in need of assistance—pulls resources to one spot and away from him and the Hamilton Beach house,” noted Det. Kenny Zorn, 106th Precinct Community Affairs officer.
Plainclothes cops who had been sitting on Kolm’s house also responded to the 911 call. However, when they returned to Hamilton Beach, they observed Kolm leaving the residence. A 40-minute foot chase ensued, with Kolm hopping from yard to yard and residents telling cops “There he goes! There he goes!” Zorn said. He was eventually grabbed on a roof on 163rd Drive.
Zorn indicated that investigators were confident they would catch up to Kolm pretty quickly.
“His whole life is here: his drugs, his family, his support system,” Zorn said.
Kolm posted bail late Wednesday night after spending nearly a week on Rikers Island on a slew of charges, including second-degree grand larceny and felony burglary. His next court date is scheduled for May 21.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
