Police: Queens man arrested in theft of vehicle in Bellerose Terrace
Lekhram Karim, 20, of Jamaica, Queens, was arrested in Bellerose Terrace on Monday, March 30, 2015, and charged with criminal possession of stolen property and auto stripping -- both felonies, police said. He also was charged with misdemeanor possession of burglary tools, they said. Credit: NCPD
An alert officer canvassing the neighborhood after discovering a stolen Honda Civic stripped and abandoned on a street in Bellerose Terrace on Monday saw a man working on a similar car in a garage bay and contacted detectives, who conducted surveillance and arrested the suspect.
Nassau County police said Lekhram Karim, 20, of 90-35 195th Place, Jamaica, Queens, was arrested at 2:29 p.m. and charged with third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and second-degree auto stripping -- all felonies. He also was charged with misdemeanor possession of burglary tools, police said.
Police said Major Case Bureau detectives made the arrest with assistance from the Third Precinct officer, who was not named. Police said Karim was "observed" working on his Honda Civic in a garage bay on Jamaica Avenue and that the officer also saw Honda vehicle parts and personal items belonging to the victim of the stolen vehicle.
The stripped 1998 Civic recovered near the intersection of 226th Street and 95th Avenue in Bellerose Terrace had been reported stolen in the neighborhood on Sunday, police said.
In addition to the recovered vehicle and the seized parts and personal items, police said officers recovered the engine and transmission from the stolen car, and parts from two additional Hondas reported stolen in New York City. Some of the parts were installed on the Honda owned by Karim, police said.
Karim was arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Hempstead and is being held in lieu of $2,500 bail or $5,000 bond, according to court records.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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