Robert De Niro came downstairs in his bathrobe to find New York City police officers arresting a woman who was attempting to steal Christmas presents from his home while he was there, according to police.
The woman, identified by police as Shanice Aviles, 30, was seen going down a stairwell toward the entrance of De Niro's New York City home in the Upper East Side in the early hours of Dec. 19, two senior police officials with direct knowledge of the investigation told NBC New York.
When she didn't come back up the stairwell, senior police officials told NBC New York that the NYPD's 19th Precinct Public Safety team then saw her taking presents from around a Christmas tree in De Niro's home.
She was taken into custody as De Niro, 79, came down the stairs in his bathrobe, according to the police sources.
A spokesperson for De Niro declined to make a statement about the incident at the actor's temporary rental home.
Aviles has been arrested 16 times this year on burglary and petit larceny charges and has 26 prior arrests overall, the senior police officials told NBC New York. Seven of her burglaries were in the area of De Niro's home since Thanksgiving and the NYPD had been tracking her, the officials said.
No details have been released on the specific charges she may face in the De Niro case.