September 8, 2007 / Brooklyn news / Police Blotter / Carroll Gardens–Cobble Hill

Teens mugged for cellphone

By Ariella Cohen

The Brooklyn Paper

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A 19-year old woman was assaulted and robbed on the corner of Warren and Smith streets on Aug. 29, police said.

The victim told cops that she was walking on the busy, residential block at around 11 pm when the robber sneaked up behind her, wrested her into a chokehold and punched her in the face before running off with her $500 Treo cellphone.

One week before the attack, an 18-year-old woman was beaten and robbed just three blocks away on the corner of Smith and Douglass streets. No perp has been cuffed for either crime.

Police said the two assaults may be linked.

Thai one on

A 43-year-old Cobble Hill woman had her identity stolen by a thief who rang up $1,900 in charges in Bangkok, police said.

The crime was reported Aug. 23, but an officer said the money had gone missing months ago. The victim told cops that she knew no one in Thailand and had no idea how someone there had accessed her bank account.

A police officer warned credit and debit card users to be careful where they flash their cards.

“It happened to me once,” said 76th Precinct community affairs officer Vincent Marrone. “I had to prove I hadn’t been buying [construction supplies] in California.”

Clean-air crime

Perhaps even criminals care about the environment.

Construction workers found that out on Aug. 22, when they discovered that five Environmental Preservation Agency-approved air cleaning devices were stolen from a building site on Columbia Street near Mill Street.

In addition to the five $100 air pumps, the burglars got away with a $200 electrical cord.

©2007 Community Newspaper Group