May 31, 2008 / News / Police Blotter / Brooklyn Heights–Downtown

Fancy gizmos are flying out of nabe homes

By Sarah Portlock

The Brooklyn Paper

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Burglars easily broke into at least three area apartments last week and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of electronics. Here’s a roundup:

• A thief entered a Henry Street apartment through a broken door and made off with $2,200 worth of jewelry and a $3,000 laptop on May 24. The 32-year-old resident had left her apartment, which is between Love Lane and Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights, at 11:30 am and returned five hours later to find her front door open.

• A perp broke into a Warren Street apartment through the front door on May 22 when its resident was at an evening music lecture. He came home to the apartment, which is between Clinton and Court streets in Cobble Hill, to find $5,000 worth of Apple laptops, cameras, a modem, and expensive headphones gone.

• A perp stole a new laptop from a Jay Street dance studio on May 22, after its owner left the computer on a desk at around 12:30 pm. The laptop’s owner lives in the studio building, which is between Plymouth and John streets in DUMBO, and said the building is open to the public.

GTA Brooklyn

At least five cars were stolen last week — though given the high price of fuel, one cop speculated that the thieves aren’t taking the wheels for a joy ride.

“They steal them for the parts,” the cop suggested.

Here’s a roundup:

• A perp stole a 2004 Lexus sedan that was parked on Boerum Place at Dean Street on May 19. The car’s 59-year-old owner left the Lexus at 10:15 am, but it was gone when returned three hours later, cops said.

• A thief rode out of DUMBO on a brand-new Vespa overnight on May 19. Its owner parked the fancy Italian motor scooter in front of his Main Street building at 1 pm Monday, only to find it missing just before 5 am Tuesday.

• A hoodlum jacked a 1997 Ford SUV on Jay Street near Metrotech on May 20 without breaking any windows, cops said.

The truck’s owner was at a club until 5:20 am and had the keys to the locked car in his coat pocket, but somehow the thief was able to jump-start the car and drive it away.

• A car thief scored a 2000 Audi sedan belonging to a Brooklyn Heights woman on May 22 on Montague Street at Montague Terrace without any signs of broken glass, cops said.

The vehicle was parked in front of its owner’s apartment at 8 pm. She discovered it gone the next morning.

• A perp stole a 1997 Subaru sedan on May 23 or 24 from the corner of Warren and Smith streets. The owner had parked the car in the morning, but it was gone when he returned the next day.

Bad bump

A thief used the old “bump and mug” trick, taking a woman’s bag after knocking into her on Livingston Street on May 19.

The East New York woman told cops that she was near the corner of Court Street at around 3:45 pm when she noticed her purse was missing.

That’s when she remembered the clumsy guy who’d bumped into her earlier and, apparently, taken the purse, which included $600.

Fulton St. haul

One thug was arrested for beating up a man on Fulton Street after the victim refused to hand over his wallet on May 21, cops said.

The 24-year-old victim told cops that he was hanging out with his brother on the popular shopping strip at around 3 pm when a 26-year-old hoodlum came over and announced a robbery.

When the man refused to comply with the demand for cash, the thug pummeled him about the face, wrestled him to the ground and then kicked and punched his face, head, and body.

Police did not offer details about the arrest.

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper