Residential Burglars Nabbed – Residents urged to take precautions

Three Brooklyn men have been indicted on charges of burglarizing and attempting to break into various Queens residences in mid-July.

District Attorney Brown joined with local precinct commanders in urging residents to take precautions in and around their homes, against these invasions. “…residents should be mindful that summer is a peak time for burglaries and should take adequate precautions to protect their homes and valuables by inspecting their residences to see if there is a need to improve home security.”

A Queens County grand jury returned a 15-count indictment against James Jenkins, 29, of 2949 West 28 Street, Jonathan Rios, 21, of 72 Linden Street, and Calvin Covington, 45, of 3311 Surf Avenue, all of Brooklyn, with second-degree burglary, second-degree attempted burglary, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, possession of burglar’s tools, fourth-degree criminal mischief, third-degree criminal trespass and unlawful possession of marijuana.

An investigation prior to the indictment began last month when law enforcement officials combined their resources with the DA’s Special Proceedings Bureau to look into a series of residential burglaries all involving a silver Dodge Caravan with Pennsylvania license plates.

The first incident occurred in Flushing when a homeowner returned back to their residence on 62 Road and found the house had been burglarized. A Louis Vuitton handbag, valued at $7,500, and a garment bag had been removed from the house. A neighbor’s video surveillance showed a man who fits Rios’ description get out of the passenger side of the silver Caravan, walk up to the front of the house and ring the bell. He then went to the rear of the house when no one answered. The video then showed a second man, appearing to be Jenkins exit the van and walk to the rear of the house. The last piece of footage shows the men exit the house with Rios carrying something he was not carrying earlier.

In a second incident, a woman returned to her home on 62 Street in Ridgewood on July 16, and discovered that her house had been broken into and various items, including an Xbox gaming system, games and a bank card belonging to her husband had been stolen. Nearby video surveillance allegedly showed a silver Caravan pull up to the location and Jenkins exit the driver door and walk up the driveway and make several trips back to the van before finally carrying a large bag from the vicinity of the house to the vehicle.

On July 19, defendants were observed by police at the front door of a house on 89th Street in Woodhaven, knocking on the door, jiggling the knob, ringing the doorbell, walking around the house and looking in windows. They also approached other homes but when they discovered owners were home, they walked away. They then drove to 85th Street, between 91st Avenue and Atlantic Avenue and were seen walking up and down the side of a house on 85th Street. Nearly twenty minutes later two defendants emerged from the front of the house with one holding a white sack and one carrying a black bag.  Then they drove to Brooklyn.

Meanwhile at the 85th Street house, police observed an open window, cut screen, and both doors open.  Both apartments had been ransacked and items missing.

Three days later, on the morning of July 22, Jenkins and Covington were observed at the side of the house on 75 Street in Woodhaven but after hearing dogs barking inside the house they walked away and got into the Caravan.

Later that afternoon, the Caravan was observed on 132 Street in South Ozone Park, where police observed the second-floor window open, an upstairs bedroom ransacked, and a sum of money missing.

The three defendants also attempted three other locations in South Ozone Park and Jamaica but didn’t find an unoccupied house.

When they were arrested on July 22, 2013, in the Silver Dodge Caravan, police recovered a Louis Vuitton handbag containing a document with information from the homeowner on 62nd Road in it, along with other items from addresses also targeted by the defendants. Police also recovered tools and traces of marijuana.