NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The NYPD has arrested a man in connection with a string of vandalisms at synagogues in the Bronx, and police said he'll be facing hate crime charges.
Police had been searching for a suspect after four Riverdale synagogues—the Riverdale Jewish Center, Chabad of Riverdale, Young Israel of Riverdale and Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale—were targeted last week by a man who shattered the windows, including with rocks.
NYPD
Jordan Burnette, of Riverdale, was nabbed around 3 a.m. Saturday, according to Deputy Inspector Jessica Corey, commanding officer of the department's Hate Crimes Task Force.
The 29-year-old faces a long list of charges, including burglary, criminal mischief, aggravated harassment and criminal trespass—all as hate crimes.
Burnette was taken into custody after uniformed officers on patrol early Saturday morning saw him riding a bicycle against the flow of traffic at W. 246th Street and Delafield Avenue, police said.
The officers attempted to issue him a moving violation, but he became uncooperative and refused to provide identification, police said.
He was taken to the 50th Precinct station house, where police determined he fit the description of the person sought in the criminal mischief hate crime pattern in Riverdale.
Officers canvassing the area where he was stopped also found a van with a broken windshield. Surveillance video from a nearby home showed Burnette had thrown a rock at the van's windshield, police said.
The same footage allegedly showed him leaving the parking lot of the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale.
When officers investigated the synagogue's parking lot, they found religious prayerbooks strewn on the ground and an open shed with bicycles in it, according to police, who determined the bicycle Burnette was riding was from the shed.
The NYPD has been on heightened alert in the area since the vandalisms last weekend and had assigned officers to guard synagogues.
Police said they don't believe anyone else was involved in the vandalism and expect that the added security won't be necessary going forward.
