Botched break-in

A would-be burglar slugged a 53-year-old man who broke up a Driggs Avenue break-in on Oct. 6.

At around 9:35 pm, a resident of a home near the corner of North Fifth Street confronted a stranger who was trying to pry open a basement door.

When asked why he was trying to force his way through the door, the crook explained that he was looking for a friend — then he punched the victim in the teeth and fled.

Down the drain

A thief snatched a 28-year-old woman’s wallet as she used the restroom in a trendy Bedford Avenue shopping complex on Oct. 3.

The crook grabbed the wallet — which was left beside the sink at around 8 pm — and escaped from the market at the corner North Fifth Street with the victim’s bankcards, passport, IDs, and $1,000.

Road rage

Crooks stole four metal road plates from the corner of North Seventh and Havemeyer streets overnight on Oct. 3, escaping with massive metal covers valued at $8,000.

The crooks heisted the costly construction equipment between 2 pm on Oct. 3 and 6:40 the next morning.

Hardheaded hooligan

A helmet-wearing hoodlum grabbed an iPhone from a 29-year-old woman’s hand on Oct. 8.

The ruffian snatched the phone as the victim passed the corner of North Seventh Street and Driggs Avenue at around 8:50 pm.

Bad roommates

A crook stole $3,000 from a Nassau Avenue man’s closet on Oct. 8, grabbing the cash from the apartment between Lorimer Street and Manhattan Avenue while the 37-year-old victim was at work.

He suspects that a former roommate grabbed the cash between 6:30 am and 6:15 pm.

Thief of bag

Greenpoint crooks are real party-poopers, snatching purses and handbags from Northside revelers in at least two separate incidents:

• A 29-year-old lost her pocketbook at Union Avenue bar on Oct. 4. The crooks grabbed the unattended purse between 3 am and 3:30 am, escaping from the watering hole at the corner of Richardson Street with the victim’s cellphone, credit cards, and IDs.

• A hoodlum rifled through a 21-year-old’s purse while she danced at a North Fourth Street bar at around 1:30 am on Oct. 10. When confronted, the thug fled from the bar, which is between Driggs and Bedford avenues — but he did get away with the victim’s wallet and bank cards.

Siriusly stolen

Thieves snatched a Sirius satellite radio from an SUV that had been parked at the corner of Kent Avenue and North 11th Street on Oct. 6.

The crooks shattered the passenger window of the Jeep Libety sometime between 6 am and 2:30 pm, and escaped with credit cards, IDs, and the fancy stereo system.

— Ben Muessig

©2008 Community Newspaper Group