A well-known burglar was caught inside Robert De Niro’s New York City home early on Monday morning while the Hollywood star was sleeping, according to reports.
The 30-year-old thief, Shanice Aviles, was caught by the police while she was trying to steal Christmas gifts from under the tree inside De Niro’s Manhattan townhouse.
Police sources told the New York Post that Aviles was observed by cops from the NYPD’s 19th Precinct trying to open doors to commercial buildings.
Officers then saw Aviles break into De Niro’s townhouse around 2:30 a.m.
The cops followed her inside De Niro’s home and found her on the second floor rifling through his things.
Aviles has a long rap sheet and is known by the police as a prolific thief.
De Niro was upstairs and his daughter was in a bedroom according to cops.
They were not aware of the robbery in process.
A woman allegedly broke into actor Robert De Niro’s Upper East Side townhouse early this morning and began snatching up Christmas presents from under his tree, according to police. https://t.co/NKH6W0a0oE
— ABC News (@ABC) December 19, 2022
De Niro did come downstairs to investigate what was going on after the commotion woke him up, police sources told The New York Daily News.
The outlet said the actor did not interact with the thief.
“She was stealing Christmas presents,” a police official said.
Police said they blame the “woke” Democrat District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s soft-on-crime policies for the incident.
“This is just another example of the catch-and-release justice system we’re dealing with,” a police official said.
A source told the Post that Aviles is “one of the 19th Precinct’s top five burglars.”
“Back in the saddle with this perp,” said another police source.
According to The New York Post:
Aviles has at least 26 prior arrests, mostly for burglaries, according to the sources.
The sticky-fingered thief began her crimes during the pandemic.
This year alone, she has been busted 16 times for burglary and petit larceny, according to the sources.
…She was picked up for seven burglaries in the 19th Precinct – which covers the Upper East Side – between Nov. 25 and Dec. 8, the sources said.
She was arrested for six burglaries on Dec. 8, the police official said.
