Police said they have arrested two men who allegedly attempted to burglarize this house on Tuesday afternoon. Anna Gustafson/The Forum Newsgroup
Howard Beach residents have been plagued by a series of break-ins this week, with police sources saying there were three incidents within three days.
The first house was hit around 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. last Friday evening, when police said the perpetrator entered the yard of a home on 101st Street between 157th and 158th avenues and used a ladder that he found at the site to gain entrance to the house through an open upstairs window. Assorted jewelry was reported missing.
The second incident occurred on Monday evening, between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., at a house on 100th Street between 159th and 160th avenues. The residents were at home when the criminal snuck in – which police said is a rare occurrence – and a female victim woke to see a man wielding a flashlight and looking around the house. Sources said the would-be burglar ran off after the woman startled him. Nothing was reported missing in that incident.
Police have arrested two males in a third crime, which occurred a little after 5 p.m. at a house near 81st Street and 161st Avenue. Area residents said the burglars were also scared off in that occurrence as well and did not end up swiping anything.
A neighbor of the house that was targeted said he saw three individuals near the victims’ home – including one that was knocking on the door and two others standing on the street.
“A little bit after that, I heard glass break and I saw one guy hope over the fence, and then the other guy jumped over the fence, and I heard a woman scream, ‘What are you doing?’” the resident said.
According to neighbors, after the criminals ran from the house and jumped the fence into a nearby yard, a husband-and-wife team chased them down and and held them until the cops arrested them.
By Anna Gustafson
