Brooklyn, NY – Dramatic video taken Monday in Sunset Park shows two police officers with drawn guns arresting two teens for stealing a high end car in Borough Park early Monday morning and then using credit cards found inside the vehicle for a Sunset Park shopping spree.
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Police said that the car had North Carolina license plates and had been rented from National Car Rental. The 2018 Lincoln Continental was valued at $70,000 and had been parked on 45th Street between 15th and 16th Avenues.
The driver of the vehicle, 23 year old Shloime Melamed, noticed that the car was missing on Monday morning and contacted the Shmira City Wide Safety Patrol whose volunteers obtained surveillance footage from the area showing the car being taken from the area at approximately 4 AM.
Shmira director Levi Leifer told VIN News that Melamed had inadvertently left a second key in the car, along with multiple credit cards, mobile radio equipment, his tefillin and other items of value.
Police said that they were notified of the theft at 2:17 PM and that they were able to pick up the trail of the car when Melamed’s credit card company alerted him to purchases being made on his card that afternoon in the Sunset Park area.
Shmira volunteers and detectives from the 72nd Precinct canvassed the area, finding the stolen car parked in front of a variety store located at 4715 5th Avenue. Police moved in after observing a man making credit card purchases including a jacket, a cell phone and personal items and then getting into the stolen vehicle, arresting the individual and his companion.
19 year old Jerry Polanco of East Flatbush was charged with grand larceny auto and criminal possession of stolen property. Polanco has a history of prior arrests but police declined to provide any details of his previous arrests. Also arrested was a 16 year old female who was charged with grand larceny auto and criminal possession of stolen property.
Police said that including the value of the car, the two teens were in possession of $75,000 worth of stolen merchandise at the time of their arrests.
Kudos to Shmirah and to Shomrim. I wonder if we only had one group if this arrest would of been made?
Melamed was inviting trouble. How do you inadvertently leave car keys, credit cards and other valuables in a car parked in the city? Maybe if the police were notified sooner they could have stopped the crime spree. The kid isn’t too bright, with this crime he may finally end up behind bars.
Why does Boro Park have both Shmira and Shomrim? Do they cover different functions or is this a petty feud between groups who cant get along like adults?
The need for two groups seems redundant.
I don’t live in BP so I’m not familiar, just asking?
good, and if the NYPD killed this trash, askan loving de bozo would condemn the cops
If Shmira was notified in the morning, why was there a delay to notify the police until 2:17 PM?