The NYPD is looking for a man who has broken into six apartments in the Gramercy Park neighborhood during the past three months, and tried to break into two more.
In two of the cases, the victims have woken up to find the burglar inside their homes with them, searching for valuables.
The most recent burglary was Feb. 7 on East 28th Street, said police.
The victim, a 34-year-old man, woke up at 8:15 a.m., when the burglar was inside one of his bedrooms, according to police. The suspect ran out the front door without stealing anything.
Before that, he broke into apartments on East 29th Street, East 30th Street, and three apartments on the block of East 18th Street between First and Second avenues. Two of the burglaries occurred in the same building on that block.
In one incident, on Jan. 15, a man asleep in his apartment on East 30th Street woke up at 5:40 a.m. to find the suspect inside his bedroom. Again, the suspect fled out the front door without stealing anything.
The burglary chain started on Dec. 12. The thief often enters homes through unlocked rear windows, said police. He has made off with laptops, jewelry, a purse and once even a bicycle.
The suspect is described as being a light-skinned African-American man, between 20 and 30 years old and weighs 170 pounds, said police.
Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
