A daring ding-a-ling snuck into an NYPD precinct, stole a police uniform and walked out the door unnoticed while wearing it Monday, prosecutors said.
Timothy Adams, 37, was found a day later passed out in the nearby Clinton Houses NYCHA building, still wearing the purloined police duds — leading a concerned good Samaritan to call 911 to report an unconscious cop, authorities said.
“Officers respond and find the defendant passed out in a NYCHA building that he does not live in,” said Megan Vercere, an assistant district attorney for Manhattan.
“He is still wearing the same NYPD uniform.”
The alleged post-plunder nap led to Adams’ arrest and arraignment Wednesday on burglary, larceny and criminal trespassing charges in Manhattan criminal court.
Adams, a homeless crook with a mile-long rap sheet that includes three felony and 23 misdemeanor convictions, is no stranger to allegedly stealing police property.
He was convicted in 2021 of breaking into an NYPD vehicle and stealing an Emergency Service unit vest, a baton and live ammunition, prosecutors said.
The arraignment unfolded with Adams, wearing ill-fitting clothes, rambling to his public defender as Vercere detailed the fresh accusations that he brazenly walked into a secure area in the 23rd Precinct building along East 102nd Street.
Video surveillance showed Adams stride past two signs reading “Authorized Personnel Only” and into an administrative office at about 5:40 a.m., Vercere said and court documents detail.
How Adams was able to walk into the precinct remained unclear Thursday.
“They usually have a station house security,” a police source said.
“You’re supposed to be greeted by someone when you walk in.”
Once inside the office, Adams took a uniform, flex cuffs, keys, police documents and other items, Vercere said.
“He is caught on video entering the 23rd Precinct, walking past the authorized access gate and subsequently exiting the precinct while wearing a uniform and holding a blue bag,” Vercere said.
The heist was ultimately foiled Wednesday at about 8:30 p.m. when the 911 caller reported finding Adams unconscious inside the NYCHA building at Lexington Avenue and 108th Street, about six blocks from the precinct, court documents state.
Adams, once roused, allegedly told arresting cops, “I took everything from the 23rd Precinct,” according to court documents.
The hearing pulled double duty as an arraignment for separate larceny case in which Adams allegedly stole $2.45 from a tip jar inside a business along Madison Avenue on Jan. 6.
Vercere said Adams — who has pleaded guilty to attempted burglary and attempted robbery in several open court cases — committed the NYPD theft while awaiting sentencing in another case.
His criminal record stretches back to February 2002, when he was arrested for criminal mischief and making graffiti, police said.
Judge Jeffrey Gershuny set Adams’ bail at $10,000 cash and ordered a psychiatric evaluation.
Adams’ next court date is Jan. 26.
