Woman Arrested for Allegedly Breaking Into Robert De Niro's NYC Home

One week before Christmas, a 30-year-old woman arrested after she was caught “attempting to remove property” inside Robert De Niro's New York City home, according to police.

By Ashley Joy Parker Dec 19, 2022 11:13 PMTags
Watch: Woman Caught in Robert De Niro's Home Mid-Robbery

Robert De Niro is dealing with a holiday home invader.

Authorities have arrested a 30-year-old woman who broke into the Oscar winner's home in the early morning of Dec. 19, a spokesperson for New York City Police Department tells E! News.

At around 2:45 a.m., members of the 19th precinct public safety team observed the woman—who was known to the department for numerous prior burglar arrests—entering a residence through the basement door, which had visible signs of forced entry, according to the spokesperson. Authorities then entered the building, the spokesperson said, and found the woman "attempting to remove property."

Senior police officials tell NBC New York the woman was allegedly found using De Niro's iPad while the actor and his 10-year-old daughter Helen Grace, who he shares with ex Grace Hightower, slept upstairs, senior police officials say.

The woman, identified as Shanice Aviles, has been charged with burglary and remains in police custody, the NYPD spokesperson tells E! News.

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E! News has reached out to De Niro's rep but have not received a comment.

Presley Ann/Getty Images

Aviles has more than two dozen prior arrests on her record, primarily for burglaries, NBC New York reports. A senior law enforcement official told the outlet that the public safety team had been tracking her before the incident at De Niro's house as part of an initiative to stop the rash of burglaries in the neighborhood.

This isn't the first time the Goodfellas star has been targeted in a crime. In 2018, an explosive device was found in a package addressed to De Niro at the Tribeca Grill in Manhattan, which also houses De Niro's production company. According to the FBI, similar devices at the time were sent to high-profile politicians including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, former Attorney General Eric Holder and former CIA Director John Brennan.

De Niro memorably starred in the 2009 holiday movie Everybody's Fine alongside Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. His next project, Martin Scorsese'Killers of the Flower Moonwill also star Leonardo DiCaprio, Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone and Brendan Fraser and is set to be released in the spring of 2023. 

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