Bullets over 80th Street

A gunman was arrested on Monday for his alleged role in a botched robbery on 80th Street that nearly killed a 52-year-old neighborhood businessman.

Police said that their 24-year-old suspect is the first of a handful of people expected to be arrested in the failed heist near Narrows Avenue.

The victim, 52, told cops that he was approaching his home at 6:50 pm when a van lurched into his path, blocking his way.

Two men jumped out, ran up to his car and bashed in the window before jumping inside. They tried to pull the victim into the back seat, but the victim fought off the men as his vehicle rolled down the street an additional 30 feet.

After the man finally shook loose, one of the men pulled a gun and fired a round, which slammed into a brick wall.

The suspects fled, but responding officers found their van on 88th Street between Ridge Boulevard and Narrows Avenue.

Investigators tracked down the van, and arrested their man.

Trading up

A burglar swiped cash, jewelry and a host of personal information from a Sixth Avenue home on Nov. 10, but left something behind — his music.

The tenant returned to her apartment, which is at Bay Ridge Parkway, that afternoon to find that someone had removed $5,000, a few gold rings and her birth certificate, passport and marriage license.

Then she found something that the burglar must have dropped — an iPod. Cops are going through the thief’s playlists now hoping for clues.

82nd burg

Cops are investigating two burglaries which took place on 82nd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues last week.

Officials said that someone broke into a 26-year-old man’s home between 8 am and 6:30 pm on Nov. 10, taking $50 and a gold chain valued at $300.

One day earlier, someone broke into a 23-year-old woman’s apartment, taking an assortment of jewelry, including a necklace with a butterfly on it.

6G swindle

A neighborhood senior was bilked of $6,000 after falling prey to a classic “found money” scam on Nov. 7.

The 73-year-old victim told police that she was walking her dog past the corner of Ridge Boulevard and 77th Street at just before noon when two men asked her if she had dropped a black case found lying in the street.

One of the men opened the case, revealing a pile of money inside.

Without missing a beat, one of the men hatched a plan to split the money.

After “consulting” with a lawyer on Fifth Avenue between 75th and 76th streets — the charlatan went inside a building, but left the senior in his car with his accomplice — the man came back saying that they can split the cash, but only if the woman put up $6,000 first as a “good faith” gesture.

The senior agreed, but once she forked over her money the thieves scattered, leaving her $6,000 in the hole.

©2009 Community Newspaper Group