Two Queens men have been charged with burglarizing numerous Queens locations – including a church and community center – and in one instance stealing the cremated remains of a woman’s mother from her Ozone Park home.
Randolph Ardila, 29, of Maspeth, was arraigned Sunday on two burglary counts, the possession of burglar’s tools and two counts of criminal possession of stolen property. He is alleged to have been the lookout in the Feb. 21 Ozone Park burglary of two apartments in one building, and remains held on $150,000 bail.
Ardila was arrested with a container filled with change and a $20 bill that was reported missing from one of the homes and a screwdriver, according to a spokesman for the Queens district attorney. The cremated remains of the tenant’s mother were found in his car, he added.
“It’s a very weak case against Mr. Ardila,” said his attorney James Kilduff, who said his client is not guilty. “No one has made an eyewitness ID of my client,” Kilduff added.
Raheim West, 37, of Long Island City, was arraigned Sunday on multiple charges involving burglary, attempted burglary, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, and one count each of petit larceny and possession of stolen property. He remains held on $200,000 bail.
In addition to attempted burglaries, West is accused of breaking into the Promise Christian Academy Church in Flushing and stealing $2,750 in September; removing $160 from the purse of a social worker at Asian Community Care Management in Flushing on Feb 7; prying off the door of a residence in College Point and taking money on Feb. 10; and breaking into offices at the Bowne St. Community Center in Flushing on Feb. 22 and stealing donation envelopes full of money belonging to pastors. Police allegedly recovered a pry bar, a screwdriver and work gloves from his vehicle and opened community center envelopes marked to indicate camp and T-shirt funds, according to the Queens DA.
West’s attorney was not available for comment.
