Crime Watch
Compiled by Megan Bungeroth
Online Scammer
Last week, a woman put up a Craigslist ad to sell some of her furniture. She received a response and a check for $2,830, well over her asking price, from a man who instructed her to keep a portion as payment and wire the balance to his shipping company. Lo and behold, the check bounced, the victim couldn’t stop her wire transfer and she lost her money. Read more
Crime Watch
Through the Ringer
A crooked service man made off with more than the cost of repairing a washing machine on Friday, Jan. 13. A woman in her fifties said that between August 2011 and Jan. 13, a service man came to her home on West 80th Street on three occasions to repair her washer and dryer. On the third trip, the service man brought an unknown worker with him. After they had finished their work, the victim discovered that two Bergdorf Goodman items had been stolen, along with an antique engagement ring, totaling $10,750. Read more
Crime Check
Weekly, monthly and year-to-date crime stats from the 20th Precinct, on the West Side from 59th to 86th streets.
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Crime Watch
Employee Discount
An employee of a business on West End Avenue bilked her employer out of $7,000 and racked up an impressive $37,000 in credit card debt before being found out by her boss. The crime was reported to the police Dec. 13.
Safe Not So Safe
A bartender closed up shop at a popular watering hole on Columbus Avenue Dec. 15 and put the night’s earnings in a safe. When the manager opened the safe later the next morning, the money—roughly $3,000—was gone. Surveillance video showed another employee had entered the office overnight and left a few minutes later. That employee has since disappeared and no one knows where he is.
Rooftop Burglary
Some college roommates who live in an apartment on 73rd Street came home after work and school Dec. 16 to discover that their apartment had been trashed and more than $6,500 in goods had been stolen, including three Macbooks, a guitar, Canon DSLR camera and multiple amplifiers and other music-making equipment.
Police suspect the criminals came over the roof and entered through a sliding door that doesn’t lock. No one in the building saw or heard anything.
Apple Keeps Doctors Away, Brings Thieves Instead
Apple products seem to be the premier item of choice for thieves. In another burglary Dec. 16, a 22-year-old female came home to her apartment on the Upper West Side at 2:40 a.m. to discover that her apartment had been tossed and two Macbook Pros and a Sony camera, among other items, had been stolen.
Cold-Weather Bandits
A chi-chi clothing store on Columbus Avenue was robbed Dec. 17. A man and woman walked into the store; while the woman chatted with the cashier, the man grabbed three scarves and four hats off a table and shoved them into a bag. The two suspects fled on foot in opposite directions.
Ladies, Keep Your Eyes on Your Purses
Several reports were filed this week of unattended bags and wallets going missing. Police remind residents to be especially cautious during the holiday shopping season and to keep your belongings in sight.
A Game of Adult Tag
A man was talking on his cell phone outside a children’s playground near 82nd Street and Riverside Drive Dec. 14 when a robber snatched the phone out of his hand and took off running. Here’s hoping that the kids thought they were playing a game of adult tag.
Crime Watch
’Tis the Season for Robbery
In the true spirit of the holidays, and in what police say is a sadly expected uptick in thefts in December, criminals have been hitting retail stores on the Upper West Side for merchandise and cash. Last week, a pair of men entered Le Pain Quotidien on West 72nd Street, one showing a gun and the other grabbing a kitchen knife to threaten the four employees and rob the store safe of $3,000 cash. They also snatched employees’ cell phones before getting away.
At Loehmann’s, a thief scuffled with security guards after attempting to leave the store with a bag of loot, including a $480 leopard velour clutch. And at Sephora, three men were caught on camera sweeping an entire shelf of Chanel perfume bottles into duffle bags, making off with $4,000 worth of the coveted scent. Read more
Crime Watch
Can Your Hear Me Now?
A teen was walking to school on the Upper West Side the morning of Thursday, Dec. 1, when he was robbed of his new iPhone 4.
The perpetrator of the crime asked the teen, “What kind of phone do you have?” When the teen didn’t respond, the robber told him “I have a gun, don’t struggle.” The robber took the phone and fled the scene.
Amsterdam Ave. Assault
Three teens were walking northbound on Amsterdam Avenue Dec. 1, when a group of 10 males engaged them in conversation. According to the victim, one of the group slashed him with an unknown object, causing a large laceration on his neck. The two friends were attacked by the other teens. One of the friends was cut on the ear and the other had his jacket ripped. The group fled on foot. The victims were treated at a nearby hospital.
In Through An Open Window
A female in her early thirties woke up to find that a burglar had come through her bedroom window on the night of Nov. 30. She asked him to leave but he refused. When he finally left, she called the police. After responding, officers searched the building and the burglar was apprehended.
Going Nowhere But the Big House
A female in her early fifties had her phone stolen and had threatening remarks made by a robber who refused to let her leave an UWS apartment Nov. 30. After the woman had her phone stolen, the man said, “You are done,” and made other remarks that scared her. He then refused to let her leave. When she finally managed to escape from his apartment, the crook chased her down the hall of the apartment building, yelling, “You are going nowhere!” The police later arrested him.
Brooks Brothers Bandit
A criminal rolled out of Housing Works with more than $2,000 worth of stolen merchandise Nov. 28. The criminal was observed on video in possession of the stolen items. He was later nabbed with three Brooks Brother Suits and a Brook Brothers Shirt. He was charged with grand larceny.
Return is No Vacation
A woman who went away for the weekend discovered $3,600 worth of jewelry had been stolen from her apartment. The woman said that she left her daughter in charge of her house and that her daughter had some friends over for the weekend. Stolen item included a gold ring, chain bracelets and a BlackBerry. No one has been apprehended for the crime.
Red Bull Heist
Blotter compiled by Ashley Welch
A Red Bull employee parked his vehicle on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 60th Street on Tuesday, June 7. He told police he locked the doors with two padlocks and then made a walking delivery nearby. When he returned, he found the padlocks clipped, the doors closed and 98 cases of Red Bull missing. Police canvassed the area but didn’t find any of the missing caffeinated beverage.
Gin Jam
Blotter compiled by Ashley Welch
Four males assaulted a female Wednesday, June 8, at the Gin Mill, 442 Amsterdam Ave. One of the men hit the female over the head with a bar stool, while two others punched and kicked her arms and legs. Once they were outside the bar, one of the men, waving a knife in his right hand, threatened the victim, saying, “I’m going to kill you.” The female called the police, who arrived and arrested the four males.
Three Apples in One Day
Blotter compiled by Ashley Welch
An unidentified person stole three Apple MacBook laptops from Louis D. Brandeis High School Wednesday, June 8. The computers were left on a rack in the back of an empty, unsecured classroom. The means by which they were stolen are unknown. Police searched the area, but did not find the perpetrator.
Idiot Spree
Blotter compiled by Ashley Welch
A man attempted to steal a 2005 Nissan Maxima from the MTP Parking Garage on 59th Street last Saturday. According to police, the perpetrator caused damage to the front passenger side door by hitting a pillar before exiting the car and fleeing on foot. The suspect then entered a residential building on West End Avenue, where he exposed himself to front desk security, saying, “Jump on this.” After leaving the building he ran toward West 60th Street and entered another residential building. Security then called the police, who arrived and arrested the man.
