A bodega on Courtlandt Avenue in Melrose was broken into two mornings in a row, with a group smashing a window, slipping inside and making off with vapes, watches and bags of marijuana before fleeing on foot both times. The NYPD has now released images from the scene and is asking the public to help identify the people responsible.
Investigators say the first break-in happened around 3:45 a.m. on Sept. 27, when a group forcibly entered the business after breaking a window, according to News12 | Bronx. The group stole vapes, marijuana bags and a watch before running off. Then, at around the same time the following morning, a group entered the same bodega again and stole more vapes, more marijuana bags and another watch, fleeing on foot once more.
Police have not said whether the same individuals were involved in both incidents, but the near-identical timing and method — a broken window, an early-morning entry, the same categories of stolen goods — have the Melrose business back on edge twice in 24 hours. The NYPD is asking anyone with information to call 1-800-577-TIPS.
A Tense Stretch for Courtlandt Avenue Merchants
The back-to-back burglaries are not the only trouble Courtlandt Avenue businesses have faced this fall. On Oct. 5, three men robbed a bodega on the same street at gunpoint, threatening a 27-year-old man, the station’s report notes. Two of the three jumped over the counter and grabbed $1,500 from the register before all three fled toward East 151st Street; no one was injured in that robbery…