NYPD: Same Crew Suspected Of Robbing 8 Bronx Supermarkets Of More Than $150k
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The NYPD is looking for a crew of burglars caught on camera stealing more than $150,000 from eight Bronx businesses by cutting holes through walls and ceilings.
The thieves left behind a giant hole they cut in the wall to break into the C-Town Supermarket in Crotona Park. They even stole cash from a a phone card vending machine and got away with more than $20,000.
Surveillance video obtained exclusively by CBS2 shows one thief after another sneaking their way up the supermarket's staircase. The masked men can be seen rummaging through the office at Pioneer supermarket on Featherbed lane. Wearing gloves, they bagged up what looks like bundles of cash, reported CBS2's Marc Liverman.
"They bring tools and everything. They were like professionals," said Pioneer manager Alex Leon.
He says he was woken up early the next morning by the alarm company. He arrived to find the aftermath.
"All the mess: Papers, money, everything on the floor," Leon said.
The thieves hit up the registers, but didn't stop there. They got away with cash from the safe too: More than $15,000 in total.
Leon says it was a well-planned operation.
"They know everything. They know where is going to be the hole and everything," Leon said.
That same night, they stole from Empire Restaurant next door as well. They also hit up six more Bronx businesses since, according to the NYPD. Each time, the masked bandits cut holes in walls and ceilings and break into safes and even ATMs.
"One day they're going to get caught," Leon said. "We covered all the walls, so I don't think it's going to happen again because we put some metal on the wall."
Hopefully that will make it a lot more difficult to drill through.
Police the five men always wear masks that cover their faces and all wear dark clothing.
At one of the locations on Westchester Avenue, police say they got away with more than $50,000 in cash.
Police say they've struck:
- Sept. 1, 2:30 a.m, Pioneer Supermarket on Featherbed Lane
- Sept. 1, 3:30 a.m., Empire Restaurant on Featherbed Lane
- Sept. 23, 7 p.m., A and J Supermarket on Westchester Avenue
- Sept. 30, 2 a.m., Fine Fair Supermarket on East Mount Eden
- Oct. 15, 9:30 p.m., C-Town Supermarket on Jerome Avenue
- Nov. 11, 10 p.m., C-Town Supermarket on Saint Anns Avenue
- Nov. 18, 6:20 p.m., Supermarket on East 198th Street
- Dec. 12, 5 a.m., C-Town Supermarket on Southern Boulevard
Anyone with any information is asked to call 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 a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
