By:Jeff Lipton
Police hope that the recent arrest of two men will reduce the number of larcenies. One car owner saw the suspects attempting to remove the tires from his vehicle on Clinton Avenue in Cedarhurst at 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 18, and chased them away, authorities said. Police were called, and officer Tim McHugh caught the suspects, identified as Kenneth Nunez, 18, of Floral Park, and Johnny Tejada, 17, of Brooklyn, who were charged with larceny from an auto, police said.
"We got them for taking tires and rims from an auto and leaving the car on cinder blocks," said officer Robin Webb, the Fourth Precinct's crime analyst. "We've had a lot of these recently, with people coming out in the morning and finding their cars on cinder blocks [with the tires and rims missing]."
Many of the crimes have occurred in Lawrence, Cedarhurst and Woodmere, and some have taken place in Woodsburgh, police said. In some cases, a thief or thieves have broken vehicles' windows and stolen stereo equipment or whatever they could find inside, and many have resulted in damaged vehicles, officials said.
Police said the parts that are taken from cars are sold.
"Throughout the precinct, we've had somewhat of an increase in larcenies from cars and damage to cars," said Deputy Inspector Thomas Carroll of the Fourth Precinct. He added, however, that since the arrest of the two suspects, the number of incidents has dramatically decreased. Carroll said that investigators are trying to determine whether the suspects could be linked to other car larcenies in the Five Towns.
"It was the diligence of the officer on patrol that led to the arrests," Carroll said. "We believe [the suspects] are responsible for more [crimes]. Unfortunately, we can't put a number on it. We can't actually charge them with any other crimes at this time, but the investigation is ongoing. At this stage, we believe we headed it off at the pass, and we're pleased with that."
At a recent Lawrence Village Board of Trustees meeting, trustee Martin Oliner complained about the larcenies from cars, saying that every Saturday and Jewish holiday, cars are broken into on almost every street in the village around Central Avenue, including four vehicles on Rosalind Place during the first week of October. "This is just unacceptable," Oliner said. "How many more radios need to be stolen? How many more cars need to be broken into?"
He acknowledged that part of the problem is that many residents have not reported break-ins involving their cars, so police may not be aware of the full extent of the problem.
Carroll said that thieves have not been targeting cars owned by Jewish residents. Vehicles are singled out, he explained, when they are not moved for a long time during a holiday, "which attracts additional attention."
Carroll said that despite the rash of these larcenies, crime is down 14 percent overall in the precinct from Jan. 1 through mid-October, compared with the same period in 2003. "Crime-wise, we've had a pretty good year in the precinct," he said.
Simon Felder, Lawrence's deputy mayor and its police commissioner, said he was thrilled that police have made two arrests. He added that car owners could help themselves greatly by removing the temptation. "The number one thing they should do is remove all loose items from the car's seats and dashboards, and take out anything of value, such as laptop computers and cameras," Felder said. "People leave behind cell phones and all kinds of things, and they are asking for trouble."
He said he has been working with the precinct commander, Inspector Richard McGuire, and other police personnel to curtail the number of larcenies. "They've been superb," Felder said of the Fourth Precinct police. "[McGuire] is very aware of what's going on, and the officers are doing an excellent job."
Both Carroll and Felder urged residents to report any suspicious activity to authorities. "As far as crime prevention goes, the best thing to be is a nosy neighbor who calls 911," said Carroll. "It doesn't do anyone any good if they see something and don't call."
Andrew Coen contributed to this story. Comments about it? Nassaueditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
