SUNNYSIDE — Cops say a string of nighttime burglaries in Sunnyside Gardens — including the home of City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer — came to a halt after police arrested a suspect for a break-in in the neighborhood last month.
The historic district of landscaped red brick houses had seen several home burglaries between the end of June and middle of August, with the incidents taking place at night when victims were sleeping, 108th Precinct Captain Brian Hennessy said at a community council meeting Tuesday.
In mid-August, Van Bramer had his home on 46th Street broken into while he was away for the weekend. When he came home, he found his place ransacked and his mother's jewelry stolen.
Hennessy told community council members Tuesday that the burglaries appear to have stopped since officers arrested Raymond Sanchez, 45, for a burglary in the neighborhood on Aug. 20.
Sanchez was only charged with one break-in, Hennessy said. But the precinct hasn't had a similar incident since.
"Since then, we've taken no overnight burglaries," he said.
Sanchez was busted after two officers on patrol in Sunnyside Gardens spotted a sensor light go off and found him trespassing on someone's back porch around 3:30 a.m. Aug. 20, Hennessy said.
He was found with a cell phone and $83 that had allegedly been stolen from a woman's home on 44th Street.
Cops also found a kitchen knife in Sanchez's backpack, the criminal complaint said.