A 30-year-old woman was arrested on Monday on suspicion of breaking into Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro’s rental townhouse in New York City’s Upper East Side, police said. She is suspected of being a serial burglar behind a string of break-ins in the city.
According to the NYPD, the officers spotted the suspect entering the Hollywood star’s residence through the basement door. “They did an interior patrol and discovered her inside the residence taking property,” the police spokesperson said, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
Local media identified the suspect as Shanice Aviles. The New York Post quoted police sources as saying that Aviles broke into the house using a pipe or a metal bar.
According to the Post, she was busted around 2:30am as she was holding De Niro’s iPad and grabbing presents from under a Christmas tree. NBC New York, however, cited its sources as saying that the claim about the suspect trying to steal Christmas presents was not correct and that the suspect was only caught using the actor’s iPad. Both outlets reported that De Niro and his 10-year-old daughter were sleeping upstairs when the break-in happened.
“I didn’t go to Robert De Niro’s house,” Aviles said as she was being escorted in handcuffs, as quoted by the New York Post. According to the Post, De Niro later told reporters outside his home that he was doing OK, and when asked about the incident, said: “You can read about it in the paper.”
Aviles has reportedly been arrested at least 26 times in the past, including 16 times this year alone for burglary and petit larceny. The state law defines petit larceny as theft of property worth less than $1,000.
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