Ninja Burglar
Shit like this makes me realize we really aren't that far off from having costumed vigilantes running around. Watchmen anyone?
His fight with the 'Ninja Burglar'
by Staten Island AdvanceFriday September 07, 2007, 2:29 AM
Staten Island Advance/Joshua Carp
Phil Chiolo shows the welt he received during a frightening confrontation in his home with the so-called 'Ninja Burglar.'
Phil Chiolo didn't want to stab the man who broke into his house early yesterday morning. But he had little choice. The masked home invader, dressed like a ninja, was wielding nunchucks and on the attack.
"I thought to myself, 'This guy's trying to kill me,'" recalled Chiolo, 39, of the terrifying events that unfolded in his home at 137 Jefferson Ave. at around 1 a.m. The burglar escaped with a steak knife protruding from his upper chest.
Chiolo is just happy to be alive.
"I didn't want to do that, but I was afraid for my life," he said.
Interviewed last night by the Advance, Chiolo provided the following detailed account of the harrowing encounter.
His brother, Richard, 35, had gone to bed sometime around 11:30 Wednesday night. Chiolo retired soon afterward.
He was still awake when his cat, Tippy, began growling, which he said is unusual. Then he heard something drop downstairs.
"I said to myself, 'What the hell was that?'" Chiolo recounted.
He went downstairs, clicked on the light at the foot of the stairwell and passed through the dining room before turning into the dimly lit kitchen.
As he stood by the refrigerator, Chiolo noticed the back door was broken open.
Next, he spied the DVD player from the living room's entertainment center and his brother's electric bass guitar -- usually kept in the basement -- resting against the wall and stove.
UP AGAINST A NINJA
"Then, I see this guy dressed in a Halloween-like ninja outfit, with just his eyes peering out," said Chiolo. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
Almost immediately, the intruder lunged at Chiolo, whacking his left shoulder blade with nunchucks, leaving a huge black and blue welt.
"He hits me, and he hits me hard," he explained.
Chiolo spun around for cover, but the assailant hit him again with the weapon, this time leaving a knot in the back of his head.
"I think he was trying to knock me unconscious," he said.
As Chiolo fell forward onto the countertop, he grabbed a smooth-bladed steak knife, measuring about 6 inches in length, from a wooden knife block.
When he whirled around, now also armed, the burglar backed away and tripped over a kitchen chair, landing on his back.
"I didn't want to stab him, but he went to swing again at my leg and shin with the nunchucks," Chiolo said.
So, Chiolo did what most anyone else would do when under attack -- he defended himself.
And stabbed the bandit in his chest region, just above the armpit.
NINJA RETREATS
"The remarkable thing was that he did not display any physical pain," said Chiolo, adding that the attacker never uttered a word or sound. "And the handle went all the way down."
The burglar soon scrambled for the door and ran off into the dark, as Chiolo dialed 911 and awakened his brother, who had slept through the ordeal.
In the basement, it was discovered the burglar had been eyeballing Chiolo's deejay equipment.
But soon arriving cops declared the entire house a crime scene and Chiolo was whisked off to the hospital as Richard Chiolo waited it out in his car.
Yesterday's incident is the 14th time the same burglar has struck and the fifth time he has encountered a homeowner, according to cops.
SCARE ON BUEL AVE.
A scare last night at 9:30 p.m. on the 100 block of nearby Buel Avenue had cops thinking the injured burglar had maybe hit a 15th time.
However, an hour-long search by Aviation, K-9 and Emergency Service Units found nothing and the block was soon back to normal.
Some investigators are debating whether the ninja-garbed suspect might be the so-called "North Shore Burglar," who struck an estimated 15 homes in January and February before his crime streak went cold. Targeted neighborhoods included Westerleigh, West Brighton, Sunset Hill and Emerson Hill.
"We think this is a continuation of the older pattern from the winter. There are similarities," said one police source.
Investigators note some crossover in the two patterns -- both focus on neighborhoods on hills, not too far from the Staten Island Expressway or wooded areas, and in both patterns, cops are considering the possibility of a getaway driver.
Even so, another police source close to the investigation cautioned against linking the North Shore burglary wave with this most recent serial burglar -- "There's room for a lot of speculation in that stuff."
Regardless of whether it's the same person, residents are scared.
RESIDENTS IN FEAR
"Things have changed, definitely. I'm gonna put bars on my basement window," said David Thaisz, who lives across the street from Chiolo.
Mostly, neighbors said they were stunned by the brazen nature of the burglary.
"I think that's what's shocking people most, is that he was coming in when people were home," neighbor Joseph Fiorello said. "Too bad he didn't get him in his jugular vein."
Even cops expressed surprise that the injured man hasn't shown up bleeding at a local hospital.
"I would have thought that he would have sought medical attention by now," mused a veteran police source. "Maybe he hasn't, and maybe we'll be searching for the proverbial one-armed man."
HOSPITALS CHECKED
Police said checks of all New York City hospitals, including the Island's three, as well as several in New Jersey, failed to turn up a man with a stab wound of the chest.
"We're working day and night," said a law enforcer.
The wounded crook isn't getting much pity.
"This attack displays the need for homeowners without a criminal record to be allowed to purchase and own a handgun to protect their home and possessions," posted RudyVoter on silive.com, the Advance's home on the Web. "However the homeowner could have done all Staten Islanders a favor and killed him!"
"A real ninja wouldn't have been stabbed," mused a poster named bozer.
Said Richard Chiolo, "I hope he's bleeding to death as we speak."
As the search for the ninja burglar continues, cops are recommending neighbors use caution and common sense to prevent burglaries: Keep outdoor lights on, make sure house alarms are activated and lock all doors and windows.
Deputy Inspector Thomas Delahanty, commanding officer of the Mid-Island's 122nd Police Precinct, who responded to both Dongan Hills incidents yesterday, has had his officers distribute advisory fliers to the community.
"[In the event of] anything that doesn't seem right, call 911 or 1-800-577-TIPS," he said.
Inspector Richard Bruno, commanding officer of the North Shore's 120th Precinct, also suggested that residents secure their ladders.
"There must have been a minimum of five burglaries where he used a neighbor's ladder," Bruno said.
Sean Sweeney, who chairs Community Board 1, which covers most of the locations of the break-ins, said he hopes the stab wound might convince the thief to hang up his ninja mask for good.
"The burglar's desperate act has been met with a desperate response. And now, along with his ill-gotten proceeds, he has a wound that might serve as a lesson learned," Sweeney said. "The next frightened homeowner might have more at hand then a kitchen knife."
--- Contributed by Doug Auer and John Annese
On an unrelated note: I had a great time seeing a rock opera performance by East Village Opera Company last night but tonight is the night I have been waiting for....
Daddy Yankee at MSG. No seriously.... It is going to be badass.
His fight with the 'Ninja Burglar'
by Staten Island AdvanceFriday September 07, 2007, 2:29 AM
Staten Island Advance/Joshua Carp
Phil Chiolo shows the welt he received during a frightening confrontation in his home with the so-called 'Ninja Burglar.'
Phil Chiolo didn't want to stab the man who broke into his house early yesterday morning. But he had little choice. The masked home invader, dressed like a ninja, was wielding nunchucks and on the attack.
"I thought to myself, 'This guy's trying to kill me,'" recalled Chiolo, 39, of the terrifying events that unfolded in his home at 137 Jefferson Ave. at around 1 a.m. The burglar escaped with a steak knife protruding from his upper chest.
Chiolo is just happy to be alive.
"I didn't want to do that, but I was afraid for my life," he said.
Interviewed last night by the Advance, Chiolo provided the following detailed account of the harrowing encounter.
His brother, Richard, 35, had gone to bed sometime around 11:30 Wednesday night. Chiolo retired soon afterward.
He was still awake when his cat, Tippy, began growling, which he said is unusual. Then he heard something drop downstairs.
"I said to myself, 'What the hell was that?'" Chiolo recounted.
He went downstairs, clicked on the light at the foot of the stairwell and passed through the dining room before turning into the dimly lit kitchen.
As he stood by the refrigerator, Chiolo noticed the back door was broken open.
Next, he spied the DVD player from the living room's entertainment center and his brother's electric bass guitar -- usually kept in the basement -- resting against the wall and stove.
UP AGAINST A NINJA
"Then, I see this guy dressed in a Halloween-like ninja outfit, with just his eyes peering out," said Chiolo. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
Almost immediately, the intruder lunged at Chiolo, whacking his left shoulder blade with nunchucks, leaving a huge black and blue welt.
"He hits me, and he hits me hard," he explained.
Chiolo spun around for cover, but the assailant hit him again with the weapon, this time leaving a knot in the back of his head.
"I think he was trying to knock me unconscious," he said.
As Chiolo fell forward onto the countertop, he grabbed a smooth-bladed steak knife, measuring about 6 inches in length, from a wooden knife block.
When he whirled around, now also armed, the burglar backed away and tripped over a kitchen chair, landing on his back.
"I didn't want to stab him, but he went to swing again at my leg and shin with the nunchucks," Chiolo said.
So, Chiolo did what most anyone else would do when under attack -- he defended himself.
And stabbed the bandit in his chest region, just above the armpit.
NINJA RETREATS
"The remarkable thing was that he did not display any physical pain," said Chiolo, adding that the attacker never uttered a word or sound. "And the handle went all the way down."
The burglar soon scrambled for the door and ran off into the dark, as Chiolo dialed 911 and awakened his brother, who had slept through the ordeal.
In the basement, it was discovered the burglar had been eyeballing Chiolo's deejay equipment.
But soon arriving cops declared the entire house a crime scene and Chiolo was whisked off to the hospital as Richard Chiolo waited it out in his car.
Yesterday's incident is the 14th time the same burglar has struck and the fifth time he has encountered a homeowner, according to cops.
SCARE ON BUEL AVE.
A scare last night at 9:30 p.m. on the 100 block of nearby Buel Avenue had cops thinking the injured burglar had maybe hit a 15th time.
However, an hour-long search by Aviation, K-9 and Emergency Service Units found nothing and the block was soon back to normal.
Some investigators are debating whether the ninja-garbed suspect might be the so-called "North Shore Burglar," who struck an estimated 15 homes in January and February before his crime streak went cold. Targeted neighborhoods included Westerleigh, West Brighton, Sunset Hill and Emerson Hill.
"We think this is a continuation of the older pattern from the winter. There are similarities," said one police source.
Investigators note some crossover in the two patterns -- both focus on neighborhoods on hills, not too far from the Staten Island Expressway or wooded areas, and in both patterns, cops are considering the possibility of a getaway driver.
Even so, another police source close to the investigation cautioned against linking the North Shore burglary wave with this most recent serial burglar -- "There's room for a lot of speculation in that stuff."
Regardless of whether it's the same person, residents are scared.
RESIDENTS IN FEAR
"Things have changed, definitely. I'm gonna put bars on my basement window," said David Thaisz, who lives across the street from Chiolo.
Mostly, neighbors said they were stunned by the brazen nature of the burglary.
"I think that's what's shocking people most, is that he was coming in when people were home," neighbor Joseph Fiorello said. "Too bad he didn't get him in his jugular vein."
Even cops expressed surprise that the injured man hasn't shown up bleeding at a local hospital.
"I would have thought that he would have sought medical attention by now," mused a veteran police source. "Maybe he hasn't, and maybe we'll be searching for the proverbial one-armed man."
HOSPITALS CHECKED
Police said checks of all New York City hospitals, including the Island's three, as well as several in New Jersey, failed to turn up a man with a stab wound of the chest.
"We're working day and night," said a law enforcer.
The wounded crook isn't getting much pity.
"This attack displays the need for homeowners without a criminal record to be allowed to purchase and own a handgun to protect their home and possessions," posted RudyVoter on silive.com, the Advance's home on the Web. "However the homeowner could have done all Staten Islanders a favor and killed him!"
"A real ninja wouldn't have been stabbed," mused a poster named bozer.
Said Richard Chiolo, "I hope he's bleeding to death as we speak."
As the search for the ninja burglar continues, cops are recommending neighbors use caution and common sense to prevent burglaries: Keep outdoor lights on, make sure house alarms are activated and lock all doors and windows.
Deputy Inspector Thomas Delahanty, commanding officer of the Mid-Island's 122nd Police Precinct, who responded to both Dongan Hills incidents yesterday, has had his officers distribute advisory fliers to the community.
"[In the event of] anything that doesn't seem right, call 911 or 1-800-577-TIPS," he said.
Inspector Richard Bruno, commanding officer of the North Shore's 120th Precinct, also suggested that residents secure their ladders.
"There must have been a minimum of five burglaries where he used a neighbor's ladder," Bruno said.
Sean Sweeney, who chairs Community Board 1, which covers most of the locations of the break-ins, said he hopes the stab wound might convince the thief to hang up his ninja mask for good.
"The burglar's desperate act has been met with a desperate response. And now, along with his ill-gotten proceeds, he has a wound that might serve as a lesson learned," Sweeney said. "The next frightened homeowner might have more at hand then a kitchen knife."
--- Contributed by Doug Auer and John Annese
On an unrelated note: I had a great time seeing a rock opera performance by East Village Opera Company last night but tonight is the night I have been waiting for....
Daddy Yankee at MSG. No seriously.... It is going to be badass.