Police investigates scene of daring Staten Island home burglary

From the Staten Island Advance by John Annese:

The agile-as-a-cat burglar who escaped capture with a death-defying leap off a Staten Island balcony early this morning, may have staged as many as 21 break-ins over the past year, police believe.

Several police sources have linked a early-morning break-in at 28 Sabrina Lane in Dongan Hills to a pattern of high-end home burglaries in the borough's hill neighborhoods -- a pattern, sources believe, may share a connection to the so-called "Ninja Burglar" spree back in 2007 and 2008.

A member of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit dusts a backyard deck for prints

at the scene of an attempted home robbery this morning.

This morning's burglar scaled a third-story balcony, then entered the house through an open patio door at about 1 a.m., then started rummaging through an office room, but was interrupted by a six-months-pregnant mother of two who heard a noise.

"He was trying to go in the closet, but there wasn't enough space," said the mom, Halide Useini. "When I tried to open the light, I saw him face me. I was so scared, I screamed."

The burglar, who was tall and slim, was dressed entirely in black, with black gloves, and a mask that covered everything but his eyes. Mrs. Useini couldn't even make out his skin color.

Without missing a beat, the burglar turned and ran back onto the patio.

"He put his hand on the patio and he went down," Mrs. Useini said.

The burglar dropped about 17 feet, using a ground-level air conditioning unit to break his fall, and fled. Yesterday, the NYPD's Crime Scene Unit dusted the balcony for prints and examined the air conditioning unit, which was dented by the thief's landing.

Said one police source familiar with the case: "There's absolutely no forensic evidence. There's no video. Even if there was a good video, it wouldn't have brought anything to this."

The source added, "I'd like to see him show up in the emergency room with a broken bone."

Mrs. Useini, her husband, Nick, and their two daughters were all home at the time of the break-in.

Both husband and wife were awake -- Mrs. Useini was watching television while her husband had just finished surfing the Internet and went to take a shower.

Useini said he had heard some noises, but he thought it was just his wife walking around. Then he heard his wife -- "I heard a scream, like a child that came out of a nightmare.

The Useinis had an alarm system, but didn't activate it because, as Useini explained, "The chime drives you crazy."

Now, he says, he'll be more cautious, advising, "People should keep their windows and doors locked."

A family in Emerson Hill whose house was part of the burglary pattern recounted a similar story last May. In that case, homeowners Russ and Dolores Irardy said they confronted "a ninja in a black suit" who made his escape with an acrobatic leap off a second-story landing.

The serial burglaries, dubbed "Pattern 21," started in July 2008, and spreads across Todt Hill, Grymes Hill, Emerson Hill, Concord and Arrochar.

Some law enforcement sources say the burglaries may be loosely linked to the so-called "Ninja" burglary pattern, which garnered nationwide media attention in 2007 and 2008, after a Dongan Hills man reported battling a nunchuck-wielding thief in his kitchen. Police grew skeptical of his account, but the "ninja" nickname stuck.

The NYPD closed the book on that spree with the announcement that a ring of Albanian nationals believed responsible had been deported. In the past, police insisted that the most recent wave of burglaries had nothing to do with the "Ninja" pattern, but one police source close to the case has said the Albanian suspects weren't responsible for all 19 of the burglaries involved in the "Ninja" pattern.

Another, as-yet unidentified criminal hit a few of the houses in that pattern, the source said, and that crook may be linked to the latest wave of burglaries.

"I think this guy was someone who has some type of training to be calm in these situations," Useini said. "That's pretty amazing, that he could just slip in like that while you're awake, watching television."