THE BRONX — A man impersonated an NYPD officer and DEA agent while burglarizing two apartments in The Bronx, police said.
The impersonator first struck on Sept. 9 when he entered an apartment through a kitchen window at Fuller and Seddon streets near Parkchester. A 28-year-old woman who lived in the building returned home to find the man placing her jewelry into a bag.
He identified himself as a police officer and she then tried to grab the bag back from him. The man managed to wrestle it back and ran off with her bracelet, chain and necklace worth $2,800, according to the NYPD.
Then exactly one month later on Oct. 9 he entered an unlocked apartment at 262nd Street and Huxley Avenue in Riverdale. A 25-year-old male resident returned to find his door had been locked and when he unlocked it and entered he found the robber in his bedroom.
The man, who was holding a two-way radio, identified himself as a DEA agent and said he was searching for narcotics and then demanded the resident’s ID, police said.
The faux agent then took two Bulova watches valued at $500, a Samsung watch worth $299, a bracelet worth $199 and $10 in cash.
The robber is 40 to 45 years old, 5-foot-8 and 200 pounds, police said. He was last seen wearing a black rain jacket, black pants and black boots.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.
