NYPD links 6 Staten Island restaurant, salon burglaries to citywide pattern; man sought for questioning

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The NYPD is asking for the public’s help to identify an individual sought for questioning in connection with a pattern of burglaries at restaurants and other businesses on Staten Island and in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

In one of the break-ins in the pattern, as previously reported by the Advance/SILive.com, an individual shattered glass entry doors at Max’s Es-Ca, a popular restaurant in Dongan Hills.

That heist has now been identified by the NYPD as part of a burglary pattern that includes 13 break-ins from January through March citywide, according to a statement from the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

In total, thousands of dollars in cash, along with registers, electronics, bottles of alcohol, beauty products and other property were taken from businesses, police said.

Six incidents occurred on Staten Island, according to the NYPD.

3 burglaries at business in Bulls Head

The spree began at 1845 Richmond Ave. in Bulls Head, a location that ultimately was hit three times with a haul of over $11,000 in total cash, according to the police statement.

Oriental Plaza restaurant operates at that location.

On Jan. 29 at about 11:30 p.m, an unidentified individual broke a rear window, entered the property and removed about $10,000, according to the police statement.

The location was targeted again in incident No. 2 on Feb. 14, at about 12 a.m. when an individual broke a rear window to enter the property and took about $1,500, according to the police statement.

Two weeks later, police said the location was broken into again in incident No. 6 on March 3 at about 11:15 p.m. The suspect broke a side window to enter the building and removed a cash register and $125, police said.

Burglaries on Richmond Road in Dongan Hills

Multiple incidents occurred at businesses near each other in Dongan Hills, according to the police statement.

In incident No. 3, an unidentified individual entered 1731 Richmond Road by breaking the front door and removing the cash register containing $200 on Feb. 22 at about 4:05 a.m. Leelee Nails is located at the address supplied by police.

Incident No. 4 occurred within minutes next door, when an unidentified individual broke the front door to enter 1727 Richmond Road and remove a desktop computer and $1,000. Fu Zhou Food restaurant is located at the address supplied by police.

On March 3, incident No. 5 happened at 4:50 a.m. when an unidentified individual broke the front door to enter 1559 Richmond Road, police said. The suspect allegedly removed the cash register, credit cards and $800. Max’s Es-Ca restaurant is located at the address provided by the NYPD.

Owner describes burglary at Max’s Es-Ca

In that incident, a burglar shattered the glass doors and left with a tip box and the register, Max’s Es-Ca owner Alison Marchese previously told the Advance/SILive.com.

She was grateful that no one was in the restaurant when the heist occurred.

“Everyone’s good, nobody was injured,” Marchese said.

“It’s a little cold out and we have no doors, but we’re up and running,” Marchese said.

Once inside the restaurant, the individual jumped over the bar and snatched a tip box and the register before leaving, the owner said.

Surveillance footage provided to the Advance/SILive.com showed a man grab a box from the counter.

A delivery person alerted the restaurant to the broken doors.

NYPD details burglaries in Manhattan and Brooklyn

The police statement listed these additional burglaries:

• Incident No. 7 occurred on March 9 at about 12:58 a.m. when an unidentified individual broke the front door to entered 32 Broadway in Manhattan and stole about $800.
• Incident No. 8 happened on March 11 at about 9 p.m. when an unidentified individual used a hammer to break the front door and enter 63 Reade St. in Manhattan. He allegedly removed items totaling $120.
• Incident No. 9 in Brooklyn occurred on March 12 at about 10 p.m. when an unidentified individual broke the front door to enter 1702 Avenue Z and removed $200 and liquor bottles valued at $204.
• Incident No. 10 happened on March 14 at about 1:30 a.m. in Brooklyn when an unidentified individual broke the front door to enter 160 Gravesend Neck Road and removed the cash register and $100.
• Incident No. 11 occurred minutes later when an unidentified individual damaged the front door of 158 Gravesend Neck Road in Brooklyn.
• Incident No. 12 happened on March 15 at about 12:50 a.m. when an unidentified individual broke the front door to enter 1602 Avenue Z, damaging three cash registers valued at $500.
• Incident No. 13 occurred on March 14 at about 9:35 p.m. when an unidentified individual broke the front door to enter 2687 East 14 St. in Brooklyn and removed a cell phone, beauty products valued at $1500, and $930 in cash.

Sought for questioning

The NYPD released a video of an individual sought for questioning in connection with the break-ins, that was captured on surveillance cameras during a heist in Brooklyn.

The video, from the 12th incident, shows a man busting through shattered glass on the door of a business on Avenue Z.

He is wearing what look like brightly-colored gloves, a hooded jacket and other all-dark clothing, and black-and-white sneakers.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents 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 their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.

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