October 6, 2007 / News / Police Blotter / Fort Greene–Clinton Hill

Gimme the car

By Harry Cheadle

for The Brooklyn Paper

Print this story

Share this story

Email a friend

Your name

Your email address

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

digg

del.icio.us

Two hoodlums stole a man’s keys and his brother-in-law’s car after an early morning holdup on Sept. 30.

The man was standing outside his building, on Classon Avenue between Myrtle and Park avenues, at 4:30 am when two teens approached him. One of the hoods, dressed in a bright blue jogging jacket, pulled out a gun and ordered, “Give me your keys.”

The man complied, and the pair took off in the green 1997 Chevrolet Venture to which the the keys belonged — actually the victim’s brother-in-law.

Garbage time

Someone broke a window early on Sept. 28, perhaps after watching “Do the Right Thing” a few too many times.

The unknown perp recreated the famous moment when Spike Lee throws the garbage can through Sal’s front window at around 3 am, near the intersection of Grand and Greene avenues. Apparently the vandal couldn’t find a trash can, so he used a garbage bag, heaving it through the window of a local business.

The owner claimed the man had long dreadlocks and said that replacing the window would cost $433.

Street fight

A mugger got away with a man’s cellphone, but lost his gun after his victim fought back on Sept. 30.

The 23-year-old victim was walking on Washington Avenue near DeKalb Avenue around 4 pm when the perp approached from behind and demanded, “Empty your pockets!”

The victim responded by punching the perp, who pulled out a silver revolver, pointed it at the man, and pulled the trigger. Fortunately, the gun misfired, and the two men started to struggle. The perp pistol-whipped the victim in the face and grabbed his cellphone, but dropped his gun in the fight.

In an odd twist, a third man, who was apparently nearby on the sidewalk, grabbed the gun and ran off with it. The mugger fled on DeKalb with his newly acquired phone, and the victim was taken to Brooklyn Hospital for his head injury, cops said.

Night marauder

A bike-riding perp snatched a woman’s purse as she was walking home along Lafayette Avenue at midnight on Sept. 29.

The 22-year-old victim was nearing Cumberland Street when she heard the bike behind her and turned to see a 6-foot, 160-pound man riding towards her.

“I’m gonna take your purse!” he said before doing just that as he rode pass.

The bag contained $30, a cellphone, and credit cards.

Crockery crook

A thief who apparently needed some cooking equipment stole $200 worth of pots and pans from a woman’s car on Sept. 28.

The car was parked on Irving Place, between Putnam and Gates avenues, around 8 am. The woman — cops had no clue on why she had over 20 pots in her back seat — came back around 1 pm to discover that the rear window was broken and her beloved cookwear was gone.

Thrifty thief

Many people might not know that the Salvation Army sells plasma TVs, but a robber took a 32-inch Sony model from a Tillary Street outlet on Sept. 28.

The perp entered the store, near Prince Street, around 9:30 pm and made off with possibly the most expensive thing ever sold at a thrift store without anyone noticing. There is a surveillance video of the store that has not been examined yet.

Rent-a-crime

A man’s moving day was interrupted when a perp stole his rented van, but the victim took justice into his own hands and found and detained the crook himself.

The man parked his loaded-up van outside his St. James Place residence, near DeKalb Avenue, around 8 pm on Sept. 28. He came back the next morning to discover that the van had vanished. He searched the area for it and discovered it several blocks away, at the corner of Monroe Street and Classon Avenue. The thief, a 44-year-old man, was rummaging through the back of the van, presumably looking for valuables.

The man called the cops and struggled with the older man, who fought dirty, leaving bite marks on the man’s arm. The police arrived after the perp was restrained, and took him into custody.

Rush job

A car thief stole a man’s van containing $5,000 in tools on Sept. 29 — and only needed 20 minutes to get the job done.

The owner of the gray Dodge van parked it at the corner of Clifton Place and Classon Avenue around 3 pm — not noticing anyone on the block — and returned 20 minutes later. That was long enough for the crafty thief to ride away with his vehicle.

The van had $5,000 worth of welding equipment inside.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper