GREENPOINT — Police are hunting two men they suspect were involved in a string of 17 burglaries in North Brooklyn dating back to Feb. 19.
The thieves have snuck into homes across Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Bushwick in the dead of night, sometimes hitting as many as four apartments in the same evening. They've managed to snatch small amounts of cash, electronics and car keys, according to police.
"They're not kicking in doors," said Capt. Peter Rose, head of Greenpoint's 94th Precinct, where 15 of the burglaries have taken place. In 10 of those cases, the victims' apartment doors were unlocked, he said.
The two thieves make their way into building lobbies, then try opening apartment doors until they find one that's unlocked, Rose said, who's reviewed surveillance footage that shows them inside different buildings doing just that.
"It's kind of a unique M-O," he said, adding that most burglaries occur during the day when residents are out of the house.
On March 10, the thieves hit three homes in one night, according to police.
First they snuck into an apartment near Skillman and Meeker avenues at 1 a.m. and took credit cards and electronics worth $100. At around 2 a.m., they went into an apartment near Monitor Street and Meeker Avenue and stole electronics, police said.
For their last theft of the night, the suspects entered an apartment at Skillman and Manhattan avenues at around 4:20 a.m. and took a key, police said.
On March 17, the pair managed to enter four homes and steal a small amount of cash and a debit card.
When the burglars entered an apartment near Monitor and Richardson streets at 9 a.m. that day, the 39-year-old man who was cooking in his underwear at the time chased the pair out wielding a kitchen knife, Rose said.
The burglars have been non-violent thus far, and have run away the two times they've been confronted, according to police.
"[They're] grabbing whatever they can as soon as they go through the front door," Rose said. "Lock your doors and put your valuables away."
No arrests had been made as of Friday, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.