COBBLE HILL — Petty crime in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and Boerum Hill is expected to drop following the recent arrests of several repeat offenders — including one man with 93 prior arrests on his record, cops said.
Overall crime in the area was down in November, said Capt. Jeffrey Schiff, the commanding officer of the 76th Precinct, and he expects petty crimes to continue to dwindle now that police have taken several repeat offenders off the street.
As of Dec. 2, overall crime in the 76th Precinct was down by five incidents compared to the previous month. The precinct saw 40 total crime complaints last month, down from 45 in the same month last year. Both burglaries and grand larcenies had decreased.
Schiff highlighted several notable arrests made within the precinct over the past couple of months at a recent community council meeting.
In one instance, a 49-year-old man was arrested at Hamilton Gas and Convenience store on Nov. 5 at 5:17 p.m. for allegedly smoking a cigarette near a gas pump, Schiff said.
After the arrest for smoking near flammable materials, a misdemeanor, police discovered that Jose Andujar had 93 prior arrests and had racked up 233 different charges over the years, including 25 counts of possession of burglar's tools, 12 counts of grand larceny and 20 counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.
"These are double-digit charges filed against him, and he has a whole lot more," said Schiff.
Despite the track record, Andujar was released on his own recognizance, said a spokesman from the Brooklyn District Attorney's office. That means Andujar is free as long as he is not arrested again for the next six months.
In another incident, around 4:35 a.m. on Dec. 2, Thomas Arce, 35, was arrested for allegedly scrawling "Ronald" on a wall at the southwest corner of Union and Court streets, Schiff said.
Police said Arce has a total of 18 prior arrests, including 16 arrests related to making graffiti or criminal mischief.
And at 10:31 a.m. on Nov. 30, Shadee M. Karaein, 27, a contractor working for New York Water Taxi, was arrested for allegedly snatching a laptop from the company.
Also included in the slew of recent arrests was the apprehension on Nov. 30 of a suspect in the murder of 29-year-old Troy Young three years ago. Tyshawn Augustus was arrested for allegedly shooting Young to death in an apartment located at 36 Fourth Ave. Cops were able to nab the suspect by matching DNA to evidence, Schiff said.
Commmunity members praised the 76th Precinct for the arrests of the repeat offenders, but some said it's still important for residents to take precautions.
"We should commend the 76th Precinct for doing a great job with the arrests of repeat offenders," said Vilma Heramia, president of the Carroll Gardens Association.
"Hopefully, residents would feel safer as they walk to the train station and local merchants would not have to worry too much about being robbed. However, people should continue to take precaution."
