A burglar’s rap-sheet that got a little longer after he broke into a local dance studio, injured himself in the process, while receiving no reward for his endeavors, except a cool pair of handcuffs.
Cops from the 49th Precinct arrested Dean Russell, a 45-year-old resident of Tomlinson Avenue, after a break in was reported on the morning of Friday, August 29. Police responded to the call at Andrea’s Dance Studio at 904 Morris Park Avenue, in the mini-mall at the corner of Bronxdale Avenue.
According to the complaint against Russell, a surveillance video at the store captured the Morris Park man smashing the front window of the shop with a hammer at 12:22 a.m.
“There was a trail of blood leading around the store when we came in the next morning,” said owner Andrea Verdeschi. “He definitely was looking for money, but he didn’t find any because we don’t keep money in the store at night.”
The incident left Russell bloodied from injuries sustained in breaking the store’s window, according to the complaint, and two swabs of blood at the scene were taken by NYPD forensics.
The complaint stated that one of the blood samples was taken from a desk drawer in the store. While the DNA did not come back as of press time, it is expected that Russell will be a match.
“He opened every drawer in the store in search of money,” Verdeschi said. “I am probably going to increase the lighting outside of my store because of this break-in.”
Verdeschi said that thanks to the help of 49th Precinct community affairs officer Vic DiPierro, who was able to quickly identify Russell, the arrest was made the very next day, just hours after the break-in.
“This is the first time that the store has actually been burglarized,” Verdeschi noted. “One time, when my receptionist left her desk in the front of the store for just a minute, we caught someone in the act of stealing a wallet left there. Another time, a purse was stolen. But there was always someone in the store when it happened.”
The cost of replacing the window will be $265.
Russell was scheduled to appear in Bronx Supreme Court on September 5. He posted $20,000 bail. He has served prison time.
