AuTO-MANIC!

Cops: We got bandit in car break-in spree

A BROOKLYN neighborhood was rocked by a stunning spate of car break-ins in the month of April, irking the local police precinct.

A total of 32 cars were broken into in Bedford-Stuyvesant in the month’s first 26 days.

Then came an arrest on April 27 — and the vehicle break-ins suddenly came to an end.

Detectives in the 77th Precinct are now convinced that recent parolee Richard Carmona carried on a one-man car-based crime spree.

“We’re pretty confident he was responsible for all this,” a police source said. “He’s a recidivist — larcenies from autos. It’s what he does.”

Cops busted the 47-year-old Carmona after he allegedly used a tire iron to pry open the door to a 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage parked on Eastern Parkway and Buffalo Ave., officials said.

When Carmona couldn’t force open the lock, he smashed the car window and wormed through the hole, cops said.

Responding officers arrived moments later, pouncing on Carmona (below) as he rummaged through the car in search of valuables.

Police charged him with possession of burglar’s tools, criminal mischief, unauthorized use of a vehicle, attempted petty larceny and attempted criminal possession of stolen property, cops said.

Carmona behind $3,500 bail.

The 77th Precinct typically sees fewer than 10 car break-ins a month, sources said. The 32 such remains bars, held on crimes in the beginning of April amounted to a startling spike.

But since Carmona’s arrest, the area hasn’t had a single vehicle break-in.

Carmona hasn’t been charged with any other smash and grabs. Sources said he’s likely to avoid additional counts because of a lack of evidence.

His lawyer had no comment Friday.

The suspect has 64 previous arrests, including a number for drug and auto-related crimes, sources said.

He was paroled in November after serving two years in prison for convictions for stripping cars and selling drugs, records show.

No property was taken during some of the 32 previous breakins — many of which occurred on the same block in spurts of three or four minutes.

In other cases, the thief made off with wallets, loose change, speakers and clothing.

One car owner reported that $600 worth of tools were taken from his car, cops said.

Another reported the theft of an electronic tablet and a baby stroller.

Grand larcenies, or thefts of $1,000 or more are one of the two crime categories the 77th Precinct has seen jumps in this year.

As of April 29, cops investigated 122 grand larcenies — an 8% jump over the 113 reported at the same time last year.

Car thefts in the precinct were even with last year, standing pat at 18 by the end of April.

The only other crime increase in the neighborhood was in rapes, which jumped from seven this time last year to nine this year, cops said.