Brooklyn temple robbery crew eyed in similar cases in upstate NY, Virginia
The robbers that recently targeted a Buddhist temple in Brooklyn may be connected to similar break-ins in upstate New York and in Virginia, according to police.
Four suspects wore gloves and masks and wielded large screwdrivers as they kicked in the back door of a Flatbush home doubling as a temple on Sunday afternoon, making off with $60 in cash and two cell phones, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said in a Thursday news briefing.
A monk on the premises at the time of the break-in got the crooks to back off from trying to break in through his bedroom window by brandishing a spare shelf bracket, he previously told the Daily News. No one was injured during the incident.
The crooks’ approach mirrored similar robberies at temples in Kent, N.Y., and in Hanover, Va., Kenny said. Virginia authorities recently shared the tip with the NYPD, noting two men were arrested in that break-in.
They were linked to vehicles and phones that were tracked to New York, Kenny said.
Police hadn’t made any arrests in the Flatbush case as of Thursday night.
