Arrest Made In Upper East Side Apartment Burglaries

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A 56-year-old man has been arrested and accused of committing a string of apartment burglaries on the Upper East Side in recent weeks, police said.

Marcus Brown, 56, was charged with committing eight burglaries in the neighborhood's 19th Precinct, police said Monday night.

Earlier Monday, police reported at least 10 similar apartment burglaries had taken place in the neighborhood between July 3 and Aug. 20, between East 80th and 88th streets. Police said the burglar appeared to have entered apartments through fire escapes and accessible windows.

Got em! Wanted for numerous residential burglaries & out on parole due to COVID-19 concerns—a career criminal is now back behind bars!

Huge thanks to a community member for alerting us after spotting him entering an apartment & superb work by all our officers for a swift arrest! https://t.co/4FOhNV5sgv pic.twitter.com/XEDLQZxT5J
— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) August 24, 2020

Three of the burglaries have occurred while residents were away on vacation, the New York Post reported. One resident said jewelry and about $2,000 in cash had been taken; another had their sporting gear stolen, and a third resident said the burglars had made off with cameras.

A spate of similar burglaries were reported in the same area in December.

Through Aug. 16, 231 burglaries have been reported in the 19th precinct this year, a nearly 64 percent increase from the 141 reported in the same period last year. The total number of crime complaints has dropped, however, from 1,348 last year down to 1,238 this year — a roughly 8.2 percent decrease.