Brazen Smash and Grab Thief Targets Sauce N Cheese in Crown Heights

by CrownHeights.info

A brazen smash and grab thief targeted Sauce N Cheese on Albany Ave in Crown Heights Sunday night, leaving the front door shattered and the store’s electric bike stolen.

“This morning in Crown Heights. Brazen thief smashes pizza shop window to steal a bike,” Rabbi Yaacov Behrman tweeted along with surveillance video of the theft.

The thief can clearly be seen on the store’s surveillance cameras as he approached the store around 3:45am holding a heavy object in what appeared to be a bag. After a brief courtesy glance around, the thief smashes the glass door of the store and steps inside.

In less than 30 seconds the theft is over and the thief saunters off with the store’s electric delivery bike, leaving piles of shattered glass and items from the store strewn on the sidewalk and store floor.

The theft, although hardly the first in the area, is part of a growing trend throughout the city where thieved are becoming more emboldened in their crimes.

Rabbi Behrman challenged the police department to reverse that trend. “Why go through all this effort just for a bike? Answer: he knows he isn’t going to get caught or prosecuted. @NYPD71Pct prove him wrong!”

“We filed a police report and will make sure to follow up,” store owner Menachem Sheinberger told CrownHeights.info. “Regardless, Sauce N Cheese is still open and will be taking orders today.”

Update: According to Hamodia.com, the thief was known to the store staff as being an ex-employee with a history of stealing a bike from the store. According to the store manager, the bicycle was valued at $2,000, and the store window will cost $1,800 to replace.