Ulysses Lucero, 27, was ordered held without bail Saturday evening following his arrest on a sexually motivated burglary charge.
The homeless man with more than 20 prior arrests was taken into custody around 4 a.m. Saturday after a 911 caller reported a burglary in progress near Avenue B and East 7th Street in Manhattan’s Alphabet City neighborhood, police said. A 56-year-old woman resides at the targeted residence, according to cops.
Lucero was hit with the sexually motivated burglary charge, which applies when a person commits a burglary for sexual gratification. It remained unclear Saturday evening whether Lucero had any physical contact with the woman during the incident, police said.
The suspect’s lengthy rap sheet spans multiple categories of offenses, police sources said. His prior arrests include burglary, grand larceny, forcible touching, assault and petty larceny. The forcible touching arrest, in particular, points to a pattern of alleged sexual misconduct in his criminal history.
Lucero’s arraignment was still pending as of Saturday evening, according to police.
The charge of sexually motivated burglary elevates what might otherwise be a routine break-in attempt into a more serious classification under New York law. Prosecutors can levy the charge when they believe the underlying purpose of the unlawful entry was the perpetrator’s sexual gratification, regardless of whether a sexual act ultimately occurred.
The 4 a.m. Timing of the reported break-in suggests Lucero may have targeted the residence while the 56-year-old woman was sleeping, a common pattern in sexually motivated burglary cases. The 911 caller who alerted police potentially interrupted the crime in progress, though authorities have not disclosed whether the caller was the resident herself or a third party.
Lucero’s status as a homeless individual with an extensive arrest history raises questions about how he remained at liberty despite more than 20 prior encounters with law enforcement. His record includes both property crimes and violent offenses, with the forcible touching charge indicating prior alleged sexual misconduct.
The case remains under investigation by the NYPD.