Burglary suspects arrested in separate collars earn kudos for 68th Precinct officers

Two 68^th Precinct police officers snagged Cop of the Month honors – one for catching an individual suspected of burglary who also is believed to be responsible for a series of car break-ins in the neighborhood, and the other for collaring a suspect in a break-in at a local restaurant.

P.O. Stephen Gibbons nabbed one suspect on October 5 in the early morning hours, Deputy Inspector Richard DiBlasio told the crowd gathered at the station house for the October meeting of the 68^th Precinct Community Council.

While on plainclothes patrol, DiBlasio recounted, Gibbons responded to a call over his radio about a “male who was committing a burglary in the vicinity of Colonial Road. The individual was also seen breaking into cars earlier.

Seeing an individual who fit the description of the alleged perpetrator, Gibbons, said DiBlasio, went in pursuit. “There was a brief chase,” he recalled, “and he was able to apprehend him and place him under arrest. This individual happened to have in his possession items from vehicles that had been broken into. In addition, he had some drugs on him.

“Hopefully, we won’t see him for a while,” DiBlasio added. “If we do, Officer Gibbons will be ready for him.”

P.O. Michael Fedele was also honored, for a collar he made in the early morning hours of July 23. “He was on routine patrol and there was a radio run of a burglary in progress at the Schnitzel Haus,” DiBlasio explained. Fedele responded and soon spotted “a male exiting the Schnitzel Haus, and was able to apprehend him.”

In all, said DiBlasio, the suspect was implicated in five commercial burglaries in June and July. “The individual would have kept going,” he told his listeners. “We had a pattern going on in the area, and the individual was responsible for that pattern.”