Burglars Steal Over $45K In 2-Week Spree Across Queens: NYPD

QUEENS, NY -- Cops are searching for a masked duo responsible for stealing more than $45,000 in cash from Queens homes in a two-week burglary spree, police said Thursday.

The thieves broke into at least 10 homes between East Elmhurst and Maspeth in the two week period, once making off with $28,000 along with a woman's jewelry and other valuables, cops said. Other times, they made off with nothing.

The string of break-ins started on Jan. 28 in East Elmhurst, when the two stole around $5,000 in cash from a 49-year-old man's home near 24th Avenue and 97th Street after forcing open a rear window, police said.

The two burglars struck again two days later, this time forcing open the front door of a 27-year-old woman's Elmhurst home about 3 miles away, authorities said. They reportedly stole her jewelry from the home near 52nd Drive and 74th Street and fled.

Cops said the streak continued back in East Elmhurst on Feb. 2, when the duo pried open a second-floor window of a home near 24th Avenue and 99th Street and swiped a 46-year-old woman's jewelry and $1,000 in cash.

The crooks' first unsuccessful break-in attempt came on Feb.8 when the two tried to break into a Jackson Heights home near 97th Street and Northern Boulevard by prying open a window, but had no luck, police said.

But the duo came back twice as hard the next day, hitting two Jackson Heights homes on the same block near 101st Street and 32nd Ave, cops said. They first stole a 28-year-old woman's backpack, credit card and around $4,000 in cash before moving on to swiped a laptop and around $8,200 in cash from a 28-year-old man's house.

The largest heist of the spree came on Feb. 10, when the two stole $28,000 in cash from a 28-year-old woman's Maspeth home near Borden Avenue and Perry Avenue, authorities said. They also made off with jewelry, clothes and her passport.

Still hungry for more, the duo struck three nearby houses on Feb. 12, but their luck appeared to have dwindled. Two of the burglaries in Maspeth - one near 69th Street and 52nd Avenue and the other nearby on Calamus Avenue - were unsuccessful. In their last break-in, the two swiped jewelry and $300 from a 62-year-old man's Woodside home near 67th Street and 50th Avenue.

The NYPD released surveillance photos of two men who cops believe are the spree burglars. Both sported masks and backpacks and wore dark clothes during the heists, police said.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

Lead photo via NYPD.