QUEENS — Cops are searching for a prolific prowler who broke into several Forest Hills homes, stealing cash, jewelry and electronics — the latest string of burglaries to plague the area, sources said.
The burglar, who may have accomplices, has broken into six homes in the past two months, cops said.
According to the sources, the thief usually enters through windows or doors and leaves the same way he came in. Most of the burglaries were concentrated in a small area around Metropolitan Avenue and occurred in the evening.
In the wake of the break-ins, the commanding officer of the 112th Precinct, Capt. Thomas Conforti, encouraged residents to explore getting security systems and cameras, which act as a deterrent and can provide police with evidence.
The pattern comes on the heels of a string of burglaries earlier this year in the same neighborhood, including break-ins at 14 different homes that police suspect were committed by the same man.
So far the suspect in that case, Paul Hisler, who was arrested on May 1, has been charged with one burglary.
Overall crime in the 112th Precinct, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park, is down more than 5 percent this year. But there were 117 burglaries between Jan. 1 and Sept. 8, compared to 89 last year during the same time period, a 31.5 percent increase.
The most recent break-in occurred on Sept. 16, when a home on Alderton Street, between Metropolitan Avenue and Yellowstone Boulevard, was burglarized about 12:30 p.m. while the owner was out shopping, cops said.
When she returned, she noticed that the rear kitchen window had been lifted open and a wooden box had been placed outside the window, police said.
The burglar took an iPad, laptop, Sony camera, iPod and at least two pairs of sunglasses, one Prada brand and the other Gucci, cops said.
The pattern started on June 27, cops said, when a home on Manse Street was burglarized, according to police.
The thief also broke into a home on 72nd Avenue on Aug. 7, and a house on Nansen St. on Sept. 5, cops said.
On Sept. 12, the thief struck twice, hitting two homes on 70th Avenue. In one case, the burglar broke into a home located between Metropolitan Avenue and Sybilla Street about 11:15 p.m. after entering through the side window.
The house appeared to have been ransacked but it was unclear what was stolen, cops said.
