Overnight Ditmas Park barbershop burglary caught on camera

A man was caught on camera breaking into Leon’s Barbershop in Newkirk Plaza and even though he got away with $196, the footage shows that the money was not even his target.

Just before the new year, video obtained by News 12 shows that he did not go for the cash in the register right away because he was aiming to rob the jewelry store next door. After smashing his way into the barbershop, police say, he attempted to drill a hole through the wall between the two businesses.

“We had a lot of damage,” barbershop owner Leon Kogut said. “He broke my window. He broke my wall. He made a mess here.”

He was not able to get into the jewelry store because of an alarm system, so he settled for the money and escaped. He left four dollars in the register.

“He left me four singles,” Kogut said. “He left money for the coffee for me.”

Kogut was impressed by the man’s work and ingenuity; however, he could only feel disappointed by how those traits were used. "I'd like to tell him that you better get a good job you know because he seems like he is a very handyman, he knows what to do, he has a lot of tools - better job not to go to rob somebody,”

Business owners in the plaza told News 12 that this recent incident is just the latest example of what has been an alarming trend of burglaries in the area. The president of the Newkirk Plaza Merchants Association, Javier Saezl, told News 12 that before he could count on one hand the number of burglaries in the area.

“Now within six months, my hands are full,” Saezl said.