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Burglars Washed-up After Laundromat Heist; Suspects Eyed in 33 Similar Break-in’s

Police outside of the Spin City Laundromat on East 204 Street, where police arrested three men who broke into the store's ATM machine.--Photo by David Greene
Police outside of the Spin City Laundromat on East 204 Street, where police arrested three men who broke into the store’s ATM machine.–Photo by David Greene


by David Greene 

Three men are in custody after an early morning break-in at a Norwood laundromat–and cops say the trio is suspected in 33 similar jobs from Manhattan to Westchester.

Residents say a small army of police on the ground and a helicopter overhead, converged on the Spin City Laundromat at 345 East 204 Street at just before 3 a.m. on Thursday, July 30.

One police source told the Norwood News, “We responded to a burglary here last night. It was apart of a pattern-crime (and) who were responsible for 33 similar break-in’s from Yonkers to Manhattan.”

The officer smiled before adding, “And we arrested them last night.”

The thieves apparently only targeted the store’s Automated Teller Machine, which they cleaned out all of it’s $10 bills. The burglars also removed the surveillance camera tapes from inside Spin City.

The owner of Spin City, who purchased the popular business three months ago and who declined to be identified, recalled, “I came to open the store this morning and found police here waiting for me.”

The owner said the perpetrators created a 2-foot hole in the back of the store, where he claimed the previous owner had cheaply boarded up a window.

A second police source stated that the trio arrested had been under surveillance and police pinged the suspects phone at the time of their arrest, while the most recent crime was being committed.

Police charged Miguel Rodriguez, 34, of Beekman Avenue in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.; Juan Perez-Porter, 41, of nearby University Avenue and Porsirio Sanchez-Javier, no address give– so far all three have only been charged with burglary and criminal mischief in the latest crime.

Officially, the NYPD could not yet comment on any additional charges or pending cases against the three suspects.

Customers at Spin City were turned away for much of the day, while one angry customer argued with police about not being able to get his clothes.

“You’re not getting your clothes, it’s a crime-scene,” one detective told the agitated customer, who abruptly walked off.

A longtime worker at Spin City said as she watched police inside the store, “I don’t want people to be scared to come here, I want the people to come back.”

The day was a double-win for local cops as members of the 52nd Community Affairs, the 52 Precinct Auxiliary and members of it’s Crime Prevention Unit were on hand removing graffiti along Jerome Avenue.

 

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.

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