A known female serial cat burglar was busted by eagle-eyed NYPD officers while sneaking out after breaking into Robert De Niro’s NYC rental home and stealing Christmas presents beneath his tree while he slept upstairs.
Cat burglar steals Robert De Niro’s Christmas presents from beneath his tree while he slept
Actor Robert De Niro was sleeping upstairs in his rented Manhattan townhouse, his temporary home on the Upper East Side, in the early hours of the night on Monday, unaware that someone was creeping around his Christmas tree – and it wasn’t Santa.
According to law enforcement sources who spoke to the New York Post, a serial cat burglar was downstairs fiddling with his iPad, and snatching Christmas gifts from around his tree.
Around 2:30 AM on Monday, eagle-eyed officers with the NYPD’s 19th Precinct public safety team spotted a person trying to open doors to commercial buildings. Then, the perpetrator entered a stairwell that led to De Niro’s building.
The cops trailed her inside, where they found her with the venerated actor’s iPad in her hands.
Finally, the commotion awakened the 79-year-old actor, who came downstairs, the Daily Mail reported. His 11-year-old daughter was also upstairs, asleep in another bedroom. De Niro shares the daughter with his second wife Grace Hightower, with whom he split in 2021.
The officers weren’t aware of whose specific home they were protecting at first. Then they glanced around and saw photos of De Niro all over the house. It was unclear if the burglar knew it was De Niro’s home. He has not commented on the break-in.
Serial cat burglar busted by eagle-eyed NYPD cops
The cops busted 30-year-old Shanice Aviles, caught in the act of “stealing Christmas presents,” according to a police official.
Aviles is a known cat burglar, with a lengthy rap sheet containing at least 26 prior arrests – mostly burglaries, according to sources, who added that her crimes began during the pandemic.
This year alone, Aviles has been arrested 16 times for burglary and petit larceny. In the time between Nov. 25 and Dec. 8, Aviles was busted for seven burglaries in the 19th Precinct, which covers the Upper East Side. On December 8, she was arrested for six burglaries.
New York catch-and-release laws put criminals immediately back on the street
“This is just another example of the catch-and-release justice system we’re dealing with,” a police official remarked. “Back in the saddle with this perp.”
