Thief in New York Steals Safe With Ease

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear burglary? For most people, they imagine shattered glass windows at a storefront or a home. Then once the burglar gains access, you usually think about cluttered or damaged furniture from them scavenging for jewelry, cash or other valuable items. In most cases, that’s probably the usual scenario, but in a recent burglary that occurred last month in New York, a thief was captured on surveillance easily rolling out a security safe with an office chair.

In our blog, we frequently mention the different ways burglars and thieves crack open safes. Whether its cutting them open with an angle grinder or using heavy-duty tools such as hammers or crowbars, we also have to remember to keep our safes anchored or make it difficult to remove.

In Elmhurst, Queens, a criminal was seen rolling out a security safe through an elevator and out the entrance way with ease. Police showed a man walking into an elevator on May 3rd who had nothing, but a walking cane with him, when they released the video.  After about three hours later, he was seen wheeling off an office chair with an object covered with a sheet of cloth. That object underneath the sheet of cloth was a security safe that contained cash and jewelry.

When the man first entered the building, he was wearing nothing on his head, but as the surveillance video reveals, he tries to disguise himself by wearing some type of beige bandana to conceal his identity.  However, his disguise was not very concealing and it was very apparent it was the same man who entered the building with a cane.

The suspect was spotted on several surveillance cameras around the building. He was shown passing through the elevator doors, hallway, and finally out of the building onto the outside entrance way where he was seen by one bystander, but did not seem to arise any suspicions. No other struggles or encounters seemed to get in the way, and he was out in a matter of seconds after placing the safe onto the chair. The police reported that the man is about 5 foot and 10 inches tall weighing in at 220 pounds and in his 40’s.  Remember, sometimes the most inconspicuous people can be thieves in disguise.  You can never be too safe and that’s why protecting your valuables are very important. Like the saying goes, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Source: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/lock-up-your-safes/