February 9, 2008: Vol. 31, No. 6

Two men, one carrying an automatic gun, robbed another man on West Ninth Street on Jan. 28.

The robbers set up the victim with a ruse, motioning him to come over to them near the corner of Columbia Street and then asking him for the time.

When the 26-year-old victim rolled up his sleeve to look at his watch (which would have told him that it was 6:30 am), one of the perps displayed a firearm and said, “Gimme what you got.”

The man relinquished his watch, but when he reached for his wallet, one of the muggers said, “Don’t move,” and his accomplice took the wallet, which contained $300.

The dispossessed man was then ordered to walk towards Red Hook and not turn back.

One of the suspects is described as a 23-year-old, 6-foot-3 black man with several scars on his face.

Break and bike

A man burgled a Degraw Street home on Jan. 15 and used a bicycle to pedal to freedom.

He smashed a window near the entrance at 9:10 am, and used the opening to unlock the front door to the home, which is between Smith and Hoyt streets.

Once inside, he grabbed a purse belonging to a 27-year-old woman, who saw him fleeing down the street on two-wheels.

Her pocketbook contained credit cards and a cellphone.

Stolen purse

A similar burglary took place the following morning, Jan. 16, two blocks away on Union Street.

Someone broke through a window at 6:30 am, allowing the front door to be opened.

The hooligan took the first thing he saw — a woman’s pocketbook — and fled from the block between Smith and Hoyt streets.

Luckily for the 37-year-old victim, her bag did not contain anything valuable.

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper