Robert De Niro found out what happens when repeat offenders are released without bail. Luckily for him, the veteran actor was saved from the serial criminal who broke into his townhouse by police officers who went beyond the call of duty.
Robert De Niro was residing with his 10-year-old daughter in his New York City townhouse when a repeat offender broke in. Sources say the Irishman star was unaware of the intruder as he was on the second floor and his daughter was asleep in a bedroom when the serial burglar broke in around 2:30 am.
According to reports, the 30-year-old woman, identified as Shanice Aviles, crept down a stairwell leading to the Oscar winner’s Upper Eastside townhouse where she gained access and proceeded to search the residence, fiddling with the actor’s iPad and grabbing other items. However, this was no ordinary criminal.
Records show Aviles was arraigned on charges connected to two Queens burglaries just 10 days prior and released without bail, according to records and sources. She was busted 16 times in 2022 for burglary and petit larceny, according to the sources. After her release, officers from New York’s 19th Precinct decided they had to go beyond the call of duty to ensure citizens were protected. Little did they know, they would find themselves protecting Robert De Niro.
As De Niro relaxed unaware on his second floor, officers were tracking Aviles all night, believing she would strike again. Eagle-eyed cops trailed her into De Niro’s home and found her on the second floor, fumbling around with the star’s iPad, sources said. The NYPD’s 19th Precinct Public Safety team had been keeping an eye on Aviles — a “known burglar” with more than 26 arrests on her rap sheet, the New York Post reported. However, the police did not know it was the actor’s house until he appeared.
De Niro reportedly awoke to the commotion and came down in his bathrobe to find officers inside the $69,000-a-month rental home, placing the repeat offender under arrest. One New York police official explained why the force had to employ these tracking tactics on repeat offenders. “This is just another example of the catch-and-release justice system we’re dealing with,” the police official said, adding that Aviles is “one of the [19th Precinct’s] top five burglars.”
Aviles has at least 26 prior arrests, mostly for burglaries, but she has been allowed to go free under the state’s controversial criminal justice reforms. Just two months prior to this break-in, a 68-year-old homeowner allegedly found Aviles hiding behind his fridge after he woke up and realized that his wallet was not where he had left it by his bed. He then got into a scuffle with Aviles that resulted in him stabbing her in the leg.
Many on social media blasted De Niro, who has been a liberal activist with strong views on police and policing. In 2019, he supported the Black Lives Matter movement by signing an open letter, supporting police reform legislation and new liberal policies in the criminal justice system.
“This is poetic justice!” wrote one critic of De Niro. “You know he supports letting criminals off easy…and in this case, often. It’s EXACTLY what you deserve.”
Another posted, “As Obama’s reverend would say… ‘The chickens are coming home to roost.'”
“Congrats to #RobertDeNiro on getting robbed!” Edward Garbowski posted. “Your vote paid off just how you wanted it, so #Congrats to you!!!”
Cathy Crichton also weighed in on Twitter, writing, “Robert DeNiro’s NYC apartment robbed while he was home? He got exactly what he voted for…#getagunbobby.”
“Robert DeNiro’s home was broken into last night!!” posted another social media user. “He can thank his buddy Biden and Democrats for that ….F HILARIOUS….Karma is a B*tch huh Bobby????”
“Surely #RobertDeNiro won’t press charges,” one Twitter user posted, speculating on De Niro’s response. “That would be hypocritical since he supports democrat policies to defund police, supports democrat protesters that smash & grab and riot cities.”
Although most people were happy to learn the actor and his daughter were unscathed in the incident, others wonder if this close encounter with a repeat offender will change the celebrity’s mind about the liberal policies enacted across the country.
