Serial burglar accused of breaking into Robert De Niro’s townhouse went on a crime spree after his release
The serial burglar accused of breaking into Robert De Niro’s Manhattan townhouse posted bail and was released from jail – only to allegedly start another brazen crime spree, The Post has learned.
Shanice Aviles, 30, was recently charged with two other burglaries, including one in which she allegedly sneaked into Columbia University and beat up a security guard – and later claimed she was just looking for a toilet, court documents show.
Aviles, who was allegedly caught in the act in December trying to steal the Oscar-winning actor’s Christmas gifts, was released on bail in the case on May 3 after spending nearly five months on Rikers Island, according to Justice Department records had spent.
Manhattan prosecutors warned at a Dec. 20 hearing that Aviles would likely break the law again if she was put back on the streets — and the judge then set her bail at $40,000 in cash or $120,000 in cash. dollars as bail.
Less than a month after her release from prison, that prediction came true — Aviles allegedly stole $416 worth of merchandise from a TJ Maxx on Sixth Avenue near West 19th Street on June 5, police officers said with.
She was dragged before Manhattan Criminal Court on June 7 in that case on a petty theft charge. The judge ordered bail of $10,000 in cash or $5,000 bail — which law enforcement officials say Aviles later released.
Then on July 8, she was arrested again after allegedly sneaking through a window into Columbia Teachers College in Morningside Heights, police said.
A security guard patrolling the building around 6:30 p.m. spotted tools lying near an open window that should have been locked – and then, according to the criminal complaint, found Aviles in the building stuffing her bag with various items.
When this guard and others tried to stop her, she freaked out, punched him in the face, turned furniture in the room, and stepped on his $600 glasses, breaking them, the complaint against her said.
According to the court document, Aviles claimed she went into the building because she needed to use the restroom.
Police said they found a laptop and an electronic tablet in her bag.
She was charged with burglary and criminal embezzlement, and a judge sent her to Rikers without bail at her arraignment the following day, the prosecutors’ office said.
The details in this case are similar to those of the Dec. 18, 2022 burglary at De Niro’s Upper East Side block, where prosecutors allege Aviles forced his way into the basement with a knife and a “crowbar-like tool” while the actor slept upstairs .
Aviles already had at least 26 arrests on her list — including 16 the previous year — when she was arrested at the star’s $69,000-a-month townhouse.
Officers with the NYPD’s 19th Public Safety Precinct had tailed Aviles after identifying her as a “known burglar” as she allegedly attempted multiple doors before arriving at De Niro’s home around 2 a.m
Police reportedly found her inside fumbling with the actor’s iPad.
She was charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools.
It was not clear if Aviles or someone else had posted their bail in either case.
New York Defender Services, the public defense law firm she represents, did not respond to requests for comment.
After her arrest in December, Aviles told The Post she was a De Niro fan and wanted to apologize to the actor.
“I love his films, all of them!” she said. “My mother, my grandmother, my grandfather, we all used to see them.”
Her next court date is October 11.
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
