YORKVILLE — Police released surveillance photos of a trio of men they believe committed three burglaries as part of a string of 10 apartment break-ins over a two-month stretch.
Two of the men are wanted for going into two apartments in an East 91st Street building on March 21, between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., police said.
In the first incident, the men snatched two Apple laptops, a Louis Vuitton bag, a Baume & Mercier watch, a Fossil wallet, a Swarovski necklace, miscellaneous jewelry, a ruby/diamond piece, Beats headphones and a Chase Bank checkbook, police said.
Then they went into another apartment in the same building but fled empty-handed, according to officials.
In the surveillance photos, the men are seen walking down a sidewalk — with one wearing a skull cap and the other a baseball cap.
Police also released photos of another man they say burglarized an apartment on East 83rd Street on the same day between 8:20 a.m. and 8:40 p.m., removing a Lenovo Thinkpad laptop, its charger and a gold pendant.
The NYPD believes the man entered through the front door by unlocking its slam-lock feature.
He's described as 50 to 60 years old with a cane.
In the surveillance photos, he is shown climbing stairs while wearing a baseball cap and a hooded sweatshirt.
Police have been warning residents in the East 80s and 90s to make sure their doors are locked, especially if they use the slam-lock feature, which "gives people a false sense of security" because they can be opened with a credit card or slim jim, police said.
On Friday, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said the department is tracing the stolen jewelry and electronics and that they are closing in on a suspect for the burglaries in the East 80s.
"We think we’re going to make an arrest on this because he’s taken a lot of property," Boyce said.
There were two distinct burglary patterns — one in the East 80s and another in the 90s — with the suspects targeting the same items that are "easily portable throughout the city," he added.
“These guys are not cat burglars," Boyce explained. "There are some window entries, but they go into the window from the fire escape and leave through the hallway, which is where we get their pictures when they walk out.”
Anyone with information in regards to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
