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Suspect remains at large a month after breaking into upscale Astoria pizzeria stealing cash and liquor: NYPD

Cops are looking for this suspect, who allegedly stole hundreds in cash and bottles of liquor from one of the eateries at the International Food Court in Astoria last month. Photo courtesy of the NYPD

Aug. 19, 2024 By Bill Parry

Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria are looking for a Croc-wearing burglar who broke into one of the eateries at the International Food Court and stole cash and booze last month.

The incident occurred during the early morning hours of Saturday, July 20, when the bushy-haired hipster entered Sotto La Luna, an upscale pizzeria located at 34-39 31st St., through an unlocked window just after 3 a.m.

The suspect is seen on surveillance footage casually removing several bottles of top-shelf liquor and placing the bottles in a cardboard box as he moved through the restaurant’s bar area.

He proceeded to take $500 in cash from the register before leaving the restaurant and was last seen heading northbound on 31st Street toward Broadway.

The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect on Friday and described him as having a medium complexion with long hair pushed back by a green headband. He has a goatee and a black neck tattoo, and he wore a long-sleeved shirt with cartoonish animal designs, white and black shorts with black Crocs and white socks.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.

Through Aug. 11, the 114th Precinct has reported 124 burglaries so far in 2024, 16 fewer than the 140 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 11.4%, according to the most recent CompStat report.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
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