Suspects Wanted For Breaking Into 6 Homes In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Homeowners in Queens are keeping an eye out following a string of burglaries.
Police said they're looking for two men who have broken into five homes in the Whitestone section of the borough and one in Flushing, making off with jewelry and thousands of dollars in cash.
One of the victims talked to CBSN New York's Tara Jakeway on Wednesday. She did not want to show her face on camera out of fear that the burglars could strike again, perhaps with her two young children at home.
"My kids cannot sleep at night. They're up 3 o'clock in the morning, 2 o'clock in the morning, 'Mommy, I'm scared. I want to leave,'" the victim said.
The 36-year-old mom said she only left her house for one hour on Friday to bring her kids to basketball practice. That was all it took.
"They took everything I have -- jewelry, purses. It was about $45,000 in merchandise," the victim said.
"They," police said, are a pair of suspects who were captured on surveillance video at the first house they broke into back on Oct. 25, near 154th Street and 20th Avenue. That time, they took a laptop and jewelry.
Three days later, they nabbed more jewelry and $10,000 in cash near 147th Street and 29th Avenue, police said. They then swiped another $5,000 from a house several blocks away.
On Friday, they hit the young mother's home near Murray Street and 17th Avenue, and the house next door.
"I'm up all night. I cannot sleep. I'm in and out of the house. I'm checking my backyard. It's just ... it's disgusting," the victim said.
Police said the wanted duo gets into most of the homes through the back, sometimes cutting a hole in a screen and popping a lever before forcing open a window and climbing in.
"I put up the Ring, so I watch everything. Hopefully, that will scare them away, but I don't know," the victim said of her newly installed security system.
She said she is unsure her camera will make a difference because it didn't for her neighbor. The suspects took off with the DVR player from his home security system.
That young mother Jakeway spoke to said it's not about the money but about something priceless. The suspects stole a cross her late father gave to her 7-year-old son.
Anyone with information about the burglary spree is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting 274637.
