A serial burglar has been caught red-handed after breaking into Robert De Niro’s New York City apartment while he and his 10-year-old daughter slept upstairs.
Credit: Savage Salvation (2022)
Robert De Niro is a two-time Oscar winner and is considered one of the greatest actors who ever lived. His characters have ranged across many forms, but he is perhaps most known for playing brutal, no-nonsense criminals like in Heat, Goodfellas, and Casino. His presence on screen is massive, and his menace will intimidate even the most demanding people. But one woman didn’t seem to fear De Niro whatsoever and decided to break into his home and supposedly steal presents from under his Christmas tree!
30-year-old down and out serial burglar Shanice Aviles was arrested at De Niro’s Manhattan home at 2:45 am on 19/12/23. Police had spotted Aviles around the upper east side of Manhattan, trying door handles around the neighborhood. Aviles, a convicted burglar with over two-dozen arrests, managed to slip away from the police and worked her way into De Niro’s home on East 65th Street.
Aviles took advantage of an open townhouse door and appeared to make her way into De Niro’s home that way. Officers say the door showed signs of forced entry, and a tactical team was alerted. The criminal was reportedly found on the second floor using an Ipad. After arresting Aviles, the police spotted pictures of De Niro and soon realized they were in the home of one of the greatest actors in the world – crazy, right?!
Credit: Taxi Driver (1976)
Are you Talking to Me?
De Niro and his daughter were unharmed. The police woke the pair to alert them of what had happened. No items were damaged in the break-in, and early reports stated that Aviles was attempting to “steal presents” from the rented New York City apartment. However, NBC New York reported that this wasn’t the case, and the burglar was caught using De Niro’s Ipad. A spokeswoman for the 79-year-old actor has stated De Niro will not be releasing a statement on the attempted burglary but will, be pressing charges. The star uses the apartment as a temporary rental, so the landlord may also press charges in due course.
This marks Aviles’ 27th arrest, and police say she is already wanted in question for six other robberies across New York. She has also been arrested 16 times previously for petit larcenies.
NYPD Mugshot of Shanice Aviles, 30, arrested on burglary charges
There was no interaction between De Niro and the thief, police said. Aviles will appear in court on December 23.
Don’t Mess with Celebs…
It’s fair to say that celebrities are easy targets for scumbags like Aviles. So many celebrities are spotted and tapped, driving nice cars, and wearing lovely jewelry and expensive clothing. Actors, musicians, football players, and other sports personalities are often burglary victims, but sometimes they fight back!
In 2004, rock legend Ozzy Osbourne tackled a burglar to the ground and got him in a headlock when he caught him stealing jewelry from his LA home at 4 am. When speaking with The Guardian about the incident, he said he “acted purely on impulse”. Ozzy was born in a challenging area of England called Birmingham and was no stranger to violent altercations. When asked if he would do the same thing again, he replied, “Is the Pope a Catholic?”. I mean, the man did bite the head of a bat; of course, burglars should watch out!
Credit: Retna Ltd.
2023 for De Niro
De Niro has had a good 2022, starring in David O. Russell’s Amsterdam alongside a star-studded cast including Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Rock, Rami Malek, and Michael Shannon. 2023 is shaping up to be even better, with De Niro slated to be teaming up with Barry Levinson for Wise Guys, a drama centered on mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello. And will be starring alongside Leonardo Di Caprio in Killers of the Flower Moon, centered on a string of murders on the Osage tribe in the 1920s.
You can check out the trailer for the action-packed Savage Salvation below:
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