A Jackson Heights man was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for breaking into homes in nearly a dozen neighborhoods across Queens. Via Getty Images
May 7, 2025 By Bill Parry
A serial burglar from Jackson Heights was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison Tuesday in Queens Supreme Court for targeting homes across the borough during a three-month crime spree beginning in late 2022.
Juan Morales, 45, of 37th Avenue, was convicted in a jury trial of burglary, attempted burglary, and other related crimes for breaking into homes and stealing tens of thousands of dollars in cash, jewelry, and designer handbags as well as passports and credit cards.
Morales routinely burglarized large single-family homes, cut wires outside to disable security systems, and caused thousands of dollars in damage as he broke windows and doors to gain entry to the private residences.
“Your home should be the safest place for you and your family,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “This defendant shattered that peace of mind for these victims.”
According to the charges, he began his one-man crime spree on Nov. 5, 2022, by breaking into a home on 255th Street in Glen Oaks. The occupant came home to find that a first-floor bedroom had been ransacked, the back door had been broken, and that jewelry and watches worth approximately $27,000, along with $5,000 in cash, were missing. Electrical wires outside the home were cut. Video surveillance from a neighbor showed Morales approach the home at 6:30 p.m. while carrying a black backpack with a reflective silver stripe.
Morales also burglarized homes on 218th Street, 214th Street, 211th Street, and 28th Avenue in Bayside. In Hillcrest, he targeted homes on 166th Street and 172nd Street. He hit homes on 165th Street and 163rd Street in Murray Hill, 181st Street in Fresh Meadows, 48th Avenue in Auburndale, and 23rd Avenue in Whitestone.
Morales also attempted to break into homes on 161st Street in Whitestone and 213th Street in Bayside. His haul included numerous Rolex and Cartier watches, a Hermes Birkin handbag, and other designer purses, diamond jewelry, large sums of cash, and credit cards, as well as passports. Morales also stole sentimental items such as a college ring and home videos of a family.
On Feb. 15, police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing were called to a home on 188th Street in Auburdale after a resident had received an alert from a backyard motion detection camera. Officers apprehended Morales as he was fleeing the home through a shattered glass door. He was carrying a backpack that was filled with burglary tools, including a glass-breaking device and a wire cutter. A bag found near the defendant contained cash and jewelry belonging to the homeowner.
Morales was linked to each of the burglaries through the same clothing that he wore at each and the backpack he carried with a silver reflective stripe. Following his arrest, more than $400,000 in cash in various denominations was found in a storage unit belonging to Morales as well as his old passports.
“He spent months perfecting his craft, wearing gloves and disabling security systems and Wi-Fi, as he broke into homes and stole thousands of dollars in possessions,” Katz said. “The property owners returned home to find their cash, jewelry, and important documents gone, and their houses damaged, forcing them to make thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Frances Wand, who presided at trial, sentenced Morales to a determinate term of 27 years in prison on the charges of burglary in the second degree, attempted burglary and possession of burglary tools to be followed by a term on one to three years on the charges of burglary in the third degree and criminal possession of stolen property, criminal mischief, grand larceny.
The sentences will be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
“He has now faced justice for his actions and will serve up to 30 years in prison,” Kaz said.
Trial openings began on March 3, and the jury reached a verdict on March 18 after deliberating for approximately five hours. He was acquitted on one count of burglary in the second degree.
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