'We're Keeping Our Guard Up:' East Village Residents Securing Apartments After String Of Burglaries

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Fliers from the NYPD are posted in the East Village, warning residents to lock their apartment windows and doors following a string of break-ins in the neighborhood.

Police say the suspect has struck at least four times since late March. Sources say each time the suspect goes for electronics, and the fire escape seems to be his preferred route.

One man said he came face-to-face with the suspect late last month. He tells CBS2 he walked in to his East 4th Street apartment around 7 p.m. on March 26 to find a stranger carrying a crowbar and all of his electronics.

"He had all my stuff and was packed up and ready to get out of here," said the man, who did not want to show his face.

The victim said the thief ran up the stairs to the roof and escaped down the fire escape, and he thinks that's how the suspect also got into his apartment.

"I thought he climbed up six floors on the fire escape but most likely he climbed down one from the roof," the man said.

While residents say they're securing their own apartments, many fear that's not enough. On Monday, CBS2's Ali Bauman checked out a nearby building the suspect also targeted and found it still had its door to the roof propped open.

"We keep our doors locked, everything locked, except for the kitchen windows we open cause it gets hot," East Village resident Summer Smalley said.

"We heard they're doing daytime burglaries as well so we're keeping our guard up," resident Alexa Rozzi said.

Police are scheduled to meet with the community board Tuesday, but for now said they have stepped up patrols in the neighborhood.