Photo Courtesy of NYPD
According to the NYPD, this man attempted to steal from St. Helen’s Church on Sunday afternoon.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Area detectives on Monday reached out to the public via social media for help in identifying and locating a man who attempted to burglarize a Howard Beach church that was plundered by a pair of perps just three months ago, police said.
According to 106th Precinct investigators, security camera footage showed that on Sunday, around 2:40 p.m., the suspect forced open the door to the sacristy at St. Helen’s Church in Rockwood Park. The man quickly perused the room for valuables before fleeing the house of worship empty handed in an unknown direction.
Anyone with information is asked to call the stationhouse at (718) 845-2261 or the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, (888) 57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit info by logging onto NYPDCrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All correspondences are strictly confidential.
In April, two brazen burglars broke into the beloved Catholic church and stole hundreds of dollars in cash from donation boxes. According to police reports, a black man and woman, both 30 to 40 years old, forced their way in the front door to the 83rd Street church and pilfered approximately $400 from four containers positioned in the nave of the church near the doors. She was clearly captured on security footage casually rifling through one of the coffers. The thieves fled the scene in a red, four-door sedan, cops noted.
The lifted loot was donated by parishioners and goes to various charities that provide aid to the indigent and other Church initiatives. That case remains unsolved.
