QUEENS — Forest Hills cops are hunting for burglars who broke into two houses in the neighborhood last week, stealing cash, electronics and jewelry, police said.
Each of the break-ins occurred in the vicinity of Metropolitan Avenue, but police said they seem to be unrelated.
The break-ins come in the wake of a burglary pattern in the same area earlier this year, in which thieves broke into 14 homes, stealing cash and jewelry. In May, cops arrested an ex-convict who is being eyed in that pattern, police said.
But the new incidents do not fit the burglary pattern from earlier this year, police sources said.
On Monday, Aug. 5, burglars broke into a house on 69th Road, between Metropolitan Avenue and Olcott Street. According to cops, they broke in through the front door sometime between 10 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. and stole cash.
The second burglary occurred two days later when thieves broke into a house on 72nd Avenue, between Metropolitan Avenue and Union Turnpike, sometime between 6:45 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.
In that case, they came in through a rear window to break into the house and stole a laptop, two iPads, two cameras and jewelry, according to police.
Overall, crime in the 112th Precinct, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park, is down 3 percent this year. Burglaries are currently the only major felony crime that is up in the area, according to the police statistics for the period ending August 4.
There were 103 burglaries this year, compared to 77 last year, an increase of 34 percent.
