March 17, 2007 / News / Police Blotter / Bay Ridge–Bensonhurst

Valet dude, where’s my car?

By Matthew Lysiak and Matthew Giardina

for The Brooklyn Paper

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A man handed his keys over to a valet and returned to find out his car had left without him on March 3.

The 41-year-old victim left his 2004 Yukon Denali — a $40,000 set of wheels — at a valet service at Fourth Avenue and 101st Street. The police report indicated that the careless valet had left the keys inside the car. When the owner returned at 1:30 pm to pick up his car, the fancy wheels were nowhere to be found.

Police are on the hunt.

Exasperated

Two annoyed thugs pulled out a gun on an unsuspecting 22-year-old man and demanded his property — but not before lecturing him on his elusive behavior.

The victim was walking just before 2 pm on March 4 on Ridge Boulevard near 93rd Street when two suspects approached, pulled a gun, and chastised him.

“You got me looking all over for you,” one thief said. “Now, give me everything you got.” The victim turned over $40 and two cellphones, and the thugs jumped into a silver Altima with a third suspect behind the wheel.

Botch burglary

A keen-eyed building owner caught a would-be burglar as he tried the old “Watergate” trick on March 7 at a building at Fifth Avenue and 73rd Street.

Shortly after 2 pm, the thief prevented a door from unlocking by sliding a credit card between the lock and the door-frame — a trick once used by the Watergate burglars so that security guards would not notice anything amiss.

But in this case, the owner saw the whole thing go down, and called cops, who arrested the 21-year-old history buff, who was also found with marijuana, cops said.

Meter menace

A man removed a water meter from an 11th Avenue apartment building without permission from the owner on March 7.

The manager of the building, at 62nd Street, reported the theft of the $150 equipment at 11:30 am. Neighbors heard nothing uspicious.

No direction

A navigation system seems to have lost its way.

A GPS-guided device, valued at $900, was stolen out of a 49-year-old man’s parked Chevy Malibu on March 8, police said.

The man had parked the car on Third Avenue and 95th Street, but when he returned at 2 pm, he found his passenger-side window had been broken, and the digital map and a cellphone missing.

I want my TV

A man returned from vacation on March 6 to find his car looted.

The 2005 Ford Explorer had been parked at 12th Avenue and 74th Street, the 41-year-old victim told cops.

Missing was a seven-inch television valued at $1,800; a spare tire valued at $210; and a car jack valued at $100.

Purse snatch

A man in a waist-length gray jacket snatched a purse from a 42-year-old woman near Fort Hamilton Parkway and 68th Street on March 5.

The crime occurred at 10:20 am, and netted the thief $50.

Stolen car

A 2004 Honda went missing from the corner of Gatling and 92nd Street on March 5.

The 43-year-old victim told cops that his car was worth $25,000.

Police found no broken glass at the scene.

Gym swipe

In what has become a weekly tradition in The Brooklyn Paper’s crime blotter, another workout junkie had his locker broken into at an 86th Street gym on March 12.

The middle-aged man returned to his locker at around 12:30 pm, to find $500 missing, including his jewelry. The gym, which is near 19th Avenue, is still not as popular to local thieves as the notorious Shore Parkway health club, which seems to make a weekly appearance in these pages.

Party hardy

An elderly woman left her 80th Street home on March 9 to hit a party, but her savings took a beating instead.

The 70-year-old woman left her apartment, which is near 18th Avenue, at around 9 pm, for the party.

When she returned a few hours later, her bedroom had been ransacked and $3,000 was missing, police said.

A neighbor said he heard noises upstairs at 10 pm, but wasn’t able to identify the thieves.

Threesome

A woman returned to her 85th Street apartment on March 10 to find it broken into and robbed of $400 in jewelry and electronics.

The middle-aged woman came back to her home, which is near 24th Avenue, at around 3 pm and discovered the missing goods.

A neighbor told police that he saw one woman, and two men, all around 18-to-20-years old, hanging out in front of the victim’s home at the time of the robbery. He wasn’t able to get a good look at their faces.

Lotto scam

A woman was tricked into giving two strangers more than $10,000 in the old “fake lottery” scam.

It all went down on March 12 at noon, in front of the victim’s 73rd Street home. The supposed lottery winner told her dupe that she was unable to get the money because she was an illegal alien. The victim agreed to help her out, and handed over the cash so the scam artist could “visit her sister.”

The victim went inside her home, which is near 17th Avenue, to get a piece of paper to write out a proper loan agreement, but when she returned, the scammers had fled with the loot.

She told police she remembers that thief was a Greek woman.

Early rent

A man returned to his Bay 23rd Street apartment on March 9 to find that the $1,300 that he had left safe and secure on top of his television had been stolen.

The victim had come back to his home, which is near Bath Avenue, at around 7 am to discover the theft.

Carbbery

A man had his wallet swiped from his car after forgetting to lock the doors on March 6.

The victim had returned to his car, which was parked on Bay 16th Street near 86th Street, at around 1 am.

There were no witnesses to the late-night robbery, cops said.

School hijinx

A woman had her car window smashed and pocketbook stolen on March 8, after leaving it parked to pick up her kid from school.

The woman left her car parked on 82nd Street, near 15th Avenue, at around 3 pm. When she returned with her tyke, she noticed the window had been smashed and the bag was missing.

Restaurant mug

A man was mugged and beaten while eating in a Bay 32nd Street restaurant on March 8.

The victim was chowing down on his 8 pm dinner when two thugs approached. The first criminal punched him in the chest, and then choked him. During the brawl, the second henchman stole $200 from the man’s pocket.

The two crooks fled the restaurant, which is near Bath Avenue, on foot.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper