NYPD

Serial Thief Hammered Through Wall, Removed AC in Break-in Spree: NYPD

What to Know

  • A serial thief used a host of tactics to break into businesses, including hammering through a wall and removing an air conditioner
  • The thief broke into eight businesses between June 21 and Aug. 7 and stole thousands of dollars in cash, booze, checks and a TV
  • Police say he's around 45 or 50 years old, stands at around 5-foot-9 and weighs around 160 pounds

A serial thief used a slew of tactics to break into businesses and steal cash, checks, electronics and booze — from hammering through a wall to removing an air conditioner, the NYPD said.

The thief broke into a nail salon on the Upper East Side on June 21 by entering an adjacent building and breaking through the shared wall with a hammer, police said. He made off with $150 in cash.

A month later, on July 21, he broke into a steakhouse in the Flatiron District and stole $1,300 in cash and a $1,000 check, police said.

On July 25, he stole $350 from a cash register at a sports bar in the Financial District, and two days later, he broke the front glass window at a Pure Barre gym on the Upper East Side and stole the entire cash register, the NYPD said.

That same day, he hit an Upper East Side dry cleaner, removing an air conditioning unit to get in through the window and steal $4,000 in cash. Two days after that, he tried to break into an Upper East Side barbershop, but wasn’t successful, police said.

The thief struck again on July 30, breaking into the basement of an Upper East Side sports bar and stealing 17 bottles of liquor worth $900 and $1,500 in cash, the NYPD said.

On Aug. 3, he broke into a Midtown steamed buns restaurant via the side door, smashed the eatery’s cash register on the ground to break it open and removed $500 in cash and three checks valued at $27,000, police said.

He most recently struck on Aug. 7, when he smashed the front window of an Upper East Side hair salon, went inside and stole a $500 flat-screen TV, the NYPD said.

The thief is an approximately 45- to 50-year-old man standing at 5-foot-9 and weighing around 160 pounds, police said.

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

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