Beautiful spring weather was a fitting tribute for the opening of the Throgs Neck Little League season, but a cloud of fury soon enveloped the team after they discovered they were robbed earlier that week.
A former little leaguer, whose name has not been disclosed, allegedly broke into the clubhouse in mid-April, and made away with some equipment.
League spokespersons confirmed the equipment cage was locked Sunday night, however, on the night of Monday, April 14, league officials found the cage lock had been compromised with bolt cutters and a number of items had been removed.
Luckily, the league was able to use its new video camera surveillance system to pinpoint the break-in and identify the suspect.
Representatives from an NYPD monitoring outfit in Queens came to the league headquarters on Tuesday to review the footage.
While the 45th Precinct would not identify the suspect, a league spokesperson referred to the individual as a male in his early 20’s, known around the neighborhood.
Deputy Inspector William McSorley, commanding officer of the 45th, confirmed the suspect was previously arrested in the precinct, but was not apprehended as of press time.
McSorley said he’s confident the suspect will be apprehended soon. “I don’t think he’s going to disappear, but he’s laying low now,” he explained.
League representative Frank Eisele said he didn’t want security to be a burden, but was happy with the immediate positive effects of the surveillance equipment.
“We don’t want it to become like an armed camp here,” Eisele said. “The field, the facilities, its here for those who want to use it and respect it, but not damage it.”
He thought ideally the punishment for such an infraction would be sentencing the delinquent to do service for the league rather than be incarcerated.
“Then we’d put him to work,” Eisele commented.
