Police Nab Williamsburg Teen For String Of Chinatown Burglaries

CHINATOWN, NY — Police arrested a Williamsburg teen Saturday for busting into five Chinatown apartments over three weeks after a tenant caught him in the act, police said Wednesday.

Officers arrested Christian Pena, 19, on July 21st and slapped him with five counts of burglary on Monday, authorities said. The thief was caught red handed inside 223 Mott Street when a tenant arrived home at 5:30 p.m. to discover Pena allegedly ransacking her apartment, said police.

The string of heists began on July 12 when the burglar broke into 203 Henry Street and swiped a woman's purse packed with credit cards and cash. Later that day, officials said the thief hit 133 Mulberry Street, but fled empty handed.

His next caper occurred on July 17th when he slipped into an open window through the fire escape of 54 Henry Street. He made off with a slew of electronics including a laptop, a laptop charger, an iPhone, a Nikon digital camera and a pair of Beats By Dre headphones, police said.

Bizarrely, he also swiped three rolls of quarters from the Henry Street home.

On the day he was arrested, Pena allegedly broke into 225 Mott Street, but left empty handed. For his last heist he entered 223 Mott Street through an unlocked backyard screen door. The apartment's tenant arrived home from work at 5:30 p.m. and caught Pena with a Nintendo Switch, an Acer touch screen laptop, a pair of Apple headphones and designer sunglasses.

On Monday, Pena was also charged with possession of burglary tools, possession of stolen property and impersonation charges for giving police a fake name, authorities said.

Photo courtesy of NYPD