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Bed-Stuy Burglaries Up as Thieves Target Packages in Buildings, Police Say

By Camille Bautista | October 29, 2015 7:09pm
 Burglaries in Bed-Stuy are on the rise for the month of October due to a trio of thieves who have been targeting packages left at buildings, local police say.
Burglaries in Bed-Stuy are on the rise for the month of October due to a trio of thieves who have been targeting packages left at buildings, local police say.
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DNAinfo/Camille Bautista

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Burglaries are on the rise in Bed-Stuy this month as a team of thieves have been stealing packages — including one containing a woman’s ashes — from neighborhood homes, local police say.

The three suspected thieves have been hitting buildings and brownstones within the 79th Precinct in western Bed-Stuy, according to officials.

The incidents have caused overall crime to spike 10 percent for October, Deputy Inspector John Chell said at a recent precinct council meeting.

Several packages were stolen from one apartment building lobby last week, one of which contained the ashes of a resident’s mother, News 12 Brooklyn first reported.

The burglary took place at a home near Nostrand and Jefferson avenues, an NYPD spokesman said. No arrests have been made in connection with the Oct. 20 incident, he added.

However, the parcel containing the ashes was returned to the victim’s family within 48 hours, Chell said.

The thieves are known to local police, the commanding officer added, and the increasing presence of advanced camera systems in area homes have helped officials identify suspects.

“We know most of our, for lack of a better word, 'bad people,' doing crime around here,” Chell told residents Wednesday. “We don’t see too many new people come on the scene, we always see some frequent flyers.”

“As far as the individual who’s doing these crimes, he’ll be dealt with shortly, I can assure you that.”

Locals placed signs around the area asking for information on the suspects linked to the Oct. 20 burglary.

Local residents put up posters around the neighborhood asking for help in identifying men who allegedly stole packages from an apartment building. [DNAinfo/Camille Bautista]

“Please help us clean-up our neighborhood and keep our families safe,” the posters read.

The neighborhood saw 17 burglaries from Sept. 14 through Oct. 11, according to the most recent NYPD data. In September, the immediate area around Nostrand and Jefferson avenues had five reported burglaries, city crime data shows.