BUSTED AT A BUS STOP

Trying to use public transit to getaway from the scene of a crime proved costly for a pair of alleged burglars from Brooklyn who were caught by police a short distance from the Glendale apartment they reportedly broke into last Wednesday, July 15.

Police identified the alleged burglars as 40-year-old Alberto Muniz of Bergen Street in Crown Heights and 39-year-old Miguel Quiles of Borinquen Place in Williamsburg.

According to information provided by the Queens District Attorney's office, the burglary occurred sometime before 3:15 p.m. at a home on 69th Place near Cooper Avenue.

Reportedly, the female victim returned home and discovered that the front door of her second floor apartment had been pried open.

Upon entering her residence, law enforcement sources said, the victim determined that a number of her belongings were missing, including a pocketbook, a digital camera, several video games, watches, a portable video game system and currency.

The incident was reported to the police and officers from the 104th Precinct responded to the scene.

At around 3:30 p.m. last Wednesday, police noted, members of the precinct traveling through Glendale reportedly spotted Muniz and Quiles waiting at a bus stop at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and 69th Street.

Reportedly, the officers observed Muniz rummaging through a pocket book and Quiles stuffing several pairs of watches into his rear pocket. An overstuffed bag containing several video games and other items were spotted next to the two men, prosecutors noted.

The 104th Precinct officers approached the duo and questioned them. The items found in the pair's possession were later identified as those stolen from the victim's Glendale home moments earlier.

Muniz and Quiles were arrested by P.O. Craig Baco and charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal mischief, according to a spokesperson for Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.

Court records indicated that the two men were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court last Friday, July 17, before Judge Elisa Koenderman and were ordered held in custody on $200,000 bail. They are scheduled to return to court on July 31.