A serial burglar was interrupted trying to steal Robert De Niro’s Christmas presents while the actor and his 10-year-old daughter were sleeping upstairs.
Police arrested Shanice Aviles and charged her with burglary after finding her at 2:45 a.m. yesterday at De Niro’s home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
It was reported that Aviles, 30, tried to steal presents that were placed under the family’s Christmas tree.
Aviles, a convicted burglar who has been arrested more than 20 times, was spotted by police trying the door handles of various properties in the neighborhood.
They lost sight of her for a few minutes after she turned a corner onto East 65th Street, but noticed that a townhouse door was open.
A tactical team then went into the building, where they found Aviles on the second floor with an iPad, which they later learned belonged to De Niro. She was recognized as a wanted criminal and taken into custody.
Police then proceeded to the next floor, where they discovered family photos of De Niro. Officers woke the two-time Oscar winner and his daughter, who was asleep in a different room at the time of the attempted break-in.
Neither had been injured and locksmiths were later seen at work outside the home. Police later said De Niro, 79, indicated he wanted to press charges against Aviles, who has been arrested nine times since November 21 by the 19th Precinct Public Safety Team.
Several arrest warrants were also issued against them.
She has been arrested a total of 27 times, including the most recent incident, mostly for burglaries, including one in the New York borough of Queens on Black Friday, police said.
Mr. De Niro’s spokesman indicated that the property was a temporary rental home.
Officials said the property’s basement door showed signs of forced entry.
