CBS2 Exclusive: Search On For Burglars Who Have Targeted 10 Brooklyn Homes
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Burglars have targeted at least 10 homes in Brooklyn over the past several weeks.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported exclusively Sunday night, police say open windows accessible from backyards made some of the homes easy targets.
"I wake up in the morning and people have been walking through your home," said one married father of four. "It's very frightening."
The man, who asked that CBS2 not show his face, is missing a laptop. But what matters to him is everyone he loves is safe.
A burglar broke in to the Midwood home early Saturday morning while the family slept.
"Very neatly took out screens and got in through windows in the back," the resident said.
Investigators checked home surveillance systems along East 31st and East 32nd streets.
They said the suspect was caught on various cameras walking around the neighborhood, breaking in to at least three homes and trying to get in to at least three more -- all in a single overnight.
Some video taken in to evidence came from Neighbor Moshe Loketch.
"As you can see, he comes in through the front yard and he walks through to try to continue to go into other backyards," Loketch said. "He's wearing originally a T-shirt and a baseball cap and he puts on a sweatshirt with a hoodie."
Victims said they were fortunate that the suspect never found them.
"He only went to the ground floor," said Yitzi Gruen. "Thank God he didn't go to the upper floors where people are living, but yeah, it's pretty scary, coming into the house and people are there."
"We were very lucky that he left us alone upstairs," added the man who asked not to be identified.
In one Midwood home, the suspect tried to get inside and did not make it. But it was not for lack of trying.
He stacked up four chairs, stood up, and tried to get in through the window. Detectives were able to lift a palm print from the window frame.
A window lock stopped him in that case. But in another case, he got in through an unlocked kitchen window and stole a bicycle and electronics.
The 70th Precinct stationhouse tweeted out a second mugshot, saying the man on the left is the main suspect, while the man on the right is an accomplice. Both are known to law enforcement, although the names were not released by police.
Despite stepped-up patrols... the men are on the loose.
"It won't be long before we get them," Loketch said.
Police believe the pair's first burglary was in mid-September. There are at least 10 cases in this pattern in Midwood and Flatbush.
Residents are reminded – be vigilant and keep homes locked up tight, including all windows.
Neighbors said one of the suspects was seen making his escape using a stolen bicycle.
