September 8, 2007: Vol. 30, No. 35

A man lost his high-tech toys when a mugger demanded them early on Aug. 28.

The man was walking at 3:30 am along Water Street near the corner of Pearl Street in DUMBO when a man pulled up on a bike and demanded all of the man’s “stuff.”

The victim, not wanting any trouble, complied, and lost his Nokia phone, iPod and $80.

Video violence

The Fulton Mall branch of a national video game retail chain was robbed on Sept. 2 by a thief who might have played “Grand Theft Auto” a few too many times.

The robbery began when the only clerk at the store, which is near Duffield Street, stepped outside at 7 pm for a smoking break. A man approached, brandished a gun, and ordered the man back inside.

After successfully convincing the frightened employee to open the register and give him the $16,000 inside, the perp said, “Give me the tape” and punched his victim in the face, forcing the man to hand over the store surveillance footage before making off with his loot.

Tambourine Man

Most tambourine players are regarded as meek pacifists who are content to stay in the background and keep time, but one man broke the stereotype violently in an incident at a DUMBO bar on Aug. 26.

Around 10:30 pm, an argument broke out at the bar, on the corner of Front and Pearl streets. The tambourinist let his instrument do the talking, hitting his opponent and causing cuts and bruises to the victim’s nose and eyebrow.

Bed, bath, burg

A Fulton Mall linen retailer was cleaned out by a robber who knew how to crack the store safe on Aug. 26.

The store, on Fulton Street near Duffield Street, was locked up around 7 pm, and workers returned at 6 the next morning to find someone had put a giant hole in the wall and busted the safe, taking $7,000. The thieves also took eight sets of sheets, adding insult to injury.

Slick pick

A man’s wallet was stolen literally off of his lap as he rode the subway during rush hour on Aug. 27.

The man was sitting on the G train as it approached the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station at around 9 am. The wallet was in his lap as a nearby passenger pretended to drop something. The man tried to help find it, and the perp pretended to “find” something on the ground.

The job had been done so well the man did not realize that the perp had grabbed his wallet until he got out of the station. The wallet contained no cash, but numerous credit cards.

Court crime

A man thought his bag would be safe in the courthouse on Schermerhorn Street near Adams Street, but he was wrong — and now he’s out one ultra-expensive hearing aid.

The 60-year-old left his bag on a bench outside the men’s room while he used the facilities on Aug. 29 at around noon. He came out to find his bag had disappeared. Inside was the hearing aid, worth a whopping $16,000, and important legal documents.

Five-finger job

A thief swiped over $5,000 worth of rings while being shown around a jewelry store on Aug. 31.

The sticky-fingered customer had a salesman show him around the room, all the while reaching into cases and snatching gold jewelry from under the clerk’s nose.

Unfortunately, the store on Court Street near Remsen Street does not have a surveillance camera.

Vanishing van

Some carjackers like stealing luxury vehicles. Others prefer 2005 Ford Econoline vans.

That’s what one woman learned on Aug. 28 after she parked her not-so-minivan on Atlantic Avenue near Hoyt Street at 10 am. Eight hours later, the classic symbol of youthful rebellion and cross-country drives had disappeared.

Coin caper

A real-life pirate’s treasure — $14,000 in gold coins — was stolen from an apartment mailroom before the rightful owner could claim them.

The coins were dropped off at a building on Schermerhorn Street near Court Street and left in the communal mailroom on Sept. 1. Someone must have known what was in the boxes, because the Gold Maple Leaf and Swiss Franc coins were gone for by the time the man to whom they were addressed came down to claim them.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper