September 29, 2007: Vol. 30, No. 38

Robberies and grand larcenies again led the hit parade in Williamsburg and Bushwick’s 90th Precinct last week, with eight heists (up from three during the same week last year) and 16 grand larcenies (up from nine last year).

As in weeks past, the robberies were mostly muggings of people returning home from subways or from bars after dark. Larcenies included a purse snatching at a Laundromat on Bushwick Avenue, and an inside job at an import/ export company on Meserole Street.

Despite those spikes, the precinct saw roughly the same amount of crime in the seven major categories (35 incidents this year to 32 last year).

Night mug

A man walking home from the Montrose Avenue L-train station was mugged for his cellphone on Sept. 23, cops said.

The 24-year-old victim told cops that he was near the corner of Montrose Avenue and Humboldt Street at around 1:50 am when the Motorola Razr was ripped from his hand.

He didn’t get a good look at the perp, who ran away.

Gang bang

Four men surrounded a man near the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Seigel street at around 11:30 pm on Sept. 22 and took his cellphone, cops said.

The 39-year-old victim told cops that he didn’t get a good look at the men, who were all about 25, he said.

Highwheelin’

A man who tried to enter the subway system through a quiet, unguarded 24-hour turnstile on Sept. 23 was mugged by two men who followed him into the station, cops said.

The victim told cops that he entered the Morgan Avenue station at Harrison Place at around 10:20 pm, but before he could get to the "highwheeler" turnstile, a man put him in a headlock, while his accomplice rifled the victim’s pockets, which contained $100, a Razr phone and an employee ID from a popular Manhattan-based weekly magazine.

To add injury to insult, the first perp then slugged the victim in the face.

Cops are searching for a 5-foot-8, 160 pound white Hispanic man and a 6-foot, 230-pound black man.

Holy heist!

A South Ninth Street synagogue was robbed of nearly $1,000, cops said.

An employee of the synagogue, which is between Driggs Avenue and Roebling Street, told cops that the burglary occurred on Aug. 22 at around 6 pm. When he returned to the temple, he noticed that one of the doors had been bashed in, and the $900 was gone.

It is unclear why the synagogue waited several weeks to report the crime.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper