WOODSIDE — They got burned.
Two suspected serial burglars were caught red-handed trying to break into a Queens home on Memorial Day using a blowtorch in broad daylight — the latest incident in a recent rash of burglaries and robberies that has plagued the 108th Precinct, cops said.
The burglars — who are believed to be linked to at least a dozen other break-ins in other Queens neighborhoods from Maspeth to Jamaica — hoped the home they targeted on 63rd Street in Woodside on Monday at 1:15 p.m. would be empty because it was Memorial Day, cops said.
According to police, one of the suspects tried to break in to the back of the house using a blowtorch to get in through a window while his accomplice waited in a getaway car.
But the owner came back unexpectedly, cops said. Responding officers raced to the scene and were able to arrest one of the suspects on the spot.
That suspect — identified as 21-year old Jefferson Villarama of Elmhurst — was allegedly the getaway driver. The car was full of stolen goods from other heists, according to the NYPD, including jewelry, watches and electronics.
Villarama was charged with 3rd degree burglary, criminal possession of stolen property, unlawful use of a vehicle and criminal trespass.
The other suspect, Michael Natindim, 34, was arrested on Tuesday at his Elmhurst apartment, and charged with burglary, cops said.
According to published reports, it was not the first brush with the law for Natindim. As recently as last November, he was arrested for stealing a laptop computer and other personal items from a home in Franklin Square, LI.
It was not immediately clear if that case had been concluded.
Captain Donald T. Powers, the commanding officer of the 108th Precinct, said during a community council meeting Tuesday that the suspects carefully planned their action.
The use of the blowtorch indicated how determined the burglars were, cops said.
“It’s really scary. He was going to burn through it,“ Tara Miskovsky, 39, a life long resident of the neighborhood, said at the meeting.
“It’s very hot and air conditioners are on. It’s hard to hear what’s going on."
Monday's break-in is just the latest incident in an area that has seen an increase in the number of burglaries and robberies.
According to NYPD data, there have been 13 robberies in the 108th Precinct in the 28-day period ending May 27th, compared to seven in the same period last year.
The precinct saw 22 burglaries in that period, compared to 19 over the same time last year.
Cops warned that in many cases burglars got into apartments by breaking window screens or pushing out air conditioners.
The balmy weather also encourages people to leave their windows open, Powers said.
