April 28, 2007 / Brooklyn news / Police Blotter / Bay Ridge–Bensonhurst

Fashion thievinistas find a Gap in store security

By Matthew Lysiak and Michael Giardina

for The Brooklyn Paper

Tools

Print this story

Facebook this

Tweet this

Digg this

Del.icio.us

Email to a friend

Your name

Your email address

Recipients’ email addresses (Up to ten, separated by commas.)

A popular Fifth Avenue clothing store’s display table was looted by thieves who pulled off a bold high-noon heist on April 11.

A 23-year-old employee said he’d noticed the shirts and sweaters in the store’s window display table when he opened the store at 9:30 am only to check back shortly after noon that day to discover the table had been cleaned bare.

The perps made off with 20 shirts and 25 slit neck sweaters, worth a total of $1,800.

Unfortunately, police said employees at the store, which is near 86th Street, didn’t notice the missing merchandise quickly enough to give them a good shot at finding the fashion thievinstas.

Backstabber

A 17-year-old woman had her purse and cash stolen at knifepoint by a thug who sneaked up from behind her on April 16.

The assault came at 11:20 pm as the young woman was enjoying a walk near Fourth Avenue and 74th Street. After the victim felt the knife, she quickly let the perp have her purse, which held $20.

She didn’t get a good look at the armed bandit, cops said.

Missing cycle

A woman’s motorcycle was stolen on April 16.

The 33-year-old victim had parked her 2005 Honda near Fort Hamilton Parkway at around 2:30 pm. When she returned an hour later, the bike, valued at $9,071, was gone.

Club crawler

A man entered a nightclub by making his own entrance on April 17.

The 42-year-old owner locked up the Third Avenue club, which is near 71st Street, but returned at 6 am to find the lock on the sidewalk cellar door busted.

It appears that the thief, after getting past the first barrier, had kicked through the cellar’s sheetrock wall to create a hole through which he crawled.

Police said he ransacked the office before making off with $1,000, a $1,100 flat-screen television, and 375 compact discs.

A security camera may have caught the perp in the act, but the crook stole the tape from the camera, too.

Salon nailed

An 82nd Street nail salon was broken into and robbed on April 18.

The 34-year-old owner told cops that she had locked up the salon, which is at Third Avenue, but when she returned at 9:30 the next morning, she discovered that someone had crawled through her back window to remove $900 and a high-definition television, valued at $2,500.

The police are interviewing the neighbors.

AM break-in

A man returned to his 78th Street apartment on April 23 to find his bedroom window open and his cash missing.

The break-in occurred at around 9:30 am, when the thieves slipped through a back window and stole more than $3,000, police said. The perps fled the apartment, which is near 16th Avenue, before the man returned.

Unfortunately, no one got a good look at the criminals.

Bath burg

Thieves squeezed through the bedroom window at a Bath Avenue apartment on April 20 to steal thousands of dollars in electronics, police said.

The 30-year-old resident of the apartment, which is near Bay 20th Street, came home at around 4 pm to discover the robbery. He lost $3,800 in electronics and jewelry, he told cops.

Culinary creeps

Sure, the thieves stole jewelry — but they also got her cookbooks!

The recipes were so prized by the resident of 80th Street that she made sure to tell cops about their theft from her apartment on April 14.

The thieves also got away with gold baubles in the 7:30 am heist of the apartment, which is near Bay Parkway.

Singing blues

A middle-aged man watched in horror as his 2007 blue Suzuki motorcycle was loaded onto a white van and stolen.

The brand-new bike, valued at $10,000, was lifted — quite literally — on April 20. The chopper had been parked on 85th Street, near 21st Avenue, when an unidentified white van pulled up, and a couple of thieves loaded it into the van, police said.

The perps fled down 85th Street. Cops are looking for the bike, which has the New York license plate 83FT02.

Gym swipes

Two 86th Street gyms are competing for the title of Bensonhurst’s most theft-prone gym, which is currently being held by a Shore Parkway workout space well known to the readers of this page.

On April 16, a member of a 24th Avenue gym placed his jacket, which contained his wallet, inside a locker — but forgot to lock it. He returned at around 10 pm, and found his property missing, police said.

On April 23, a member of a gym near 19th Avenue had his locker broken into at around 6 pm. The thieves took his clothes, plus credit and debit cards, police said.

In both thefts, there were no witnesses.

Bandit nabbed

A woman had her pocketbook swiped on April 23, only to have it returned by police after they caught the thug.

The woman was on 19th Avenue and 83rd Street, at around 6:30 am, when a perp came from behind and snatched her purse, police said. Later, police caught their suspect, a 19-year-old, with the accessory on Benson Avenue.

It’s unclear what was in the bag, but the thug is facing a charge of grand larceny, which kicks in whenever more than $999 is stolen.

Purse stolen

A woman walking on 71st Street and 19th Avenue had her purse snatched, but later got it back, albeit with the money missing.

The April 12 theft occurred at 2 pm, when a man took the purse and fled down 19th Avenue.

The victim later found the handbag, with $400 missing; everything else was still there, police said.

Cops say they are looking for a 6-foot black man, who was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and blue jeans.

©2007 Community Newspaper Group