Cop caper

Even off-duty cops run into trouble at the notorious Atlantic Center Mall.

An officer shopping at the Burlington Coat Factory had her purse snatched after she absentmindedly left it on a clothing rack on Dec. 26.

Officer Denise Marshall told her fellow officers that she was shopping at the crime-ridden mall, which is near the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues, at around 9 pm when someone swiped her purse, which contained NYPD IDs, credit cards, and $350.

The embarrassed cop then called in her own crime.

Trouble at Target

And there was more crime at the Atlantic Terminal Mall’s Target store, as well. Here’s a rundown of last week’s action:

• Security cameras caught an employee rifling through a customer’s wallet and taking her credit cards and cash on Dec. 19.

The crime occurred at the customer service desk of the chaotic department store at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues, where the victim made a purchase and accidentally left her wallet behind at around 12:45.

Security cameras caught an opportunistic employee looking through the wallet and stashing it in her jacket, cops said. The suspect then brazenly used the stolen credit card at the same register where she was working.

• The next day, another unethical employee allegedly took advantage of a customer by passing credit card information to a friend, which then used it to buy merchandise at the store.

Management at Target told cops that the crafty employee did not hand over a receipt with credit card information to a customer on Dec. 20 around 5 pm. Four days later, the employee’s friend bought an Xbox and a $100 gift card. Later that day, the 21-year-old suspect got an early Christmas surprise when Officer Saitep Pinyo appeared with his own gift: a set of shiny handcuffs.

Cell snatched

A cunning thief swiped a 19-year-old’s phone as she was walking home on Dec. 17.

The young victim told cops that she was talking on her phone at the corner of Lafayette and Clermont avenues at around 4 pm when a man approached her from behind and grabbed it.

G’ed up

A thug intimidated a 14-year-old boy into handing over his phone near the G train on Dec. 21.

The young victim told cops he was exiting the train station at Lafayette and Classon avenues at around 5:30 pm when the perp approached and said, “Don’t run, come with me.”

The victim obliged, and upon arriving at the corner of Clifton Place and Classon Avenue, the perp said, “Run your pockets,” prompting the teenager to hand over the goods.

Clifton Place and Classon Avenue

iGrab

Three troublemakers pounced on a 12-year-old boy on Dec. 23, roughing the youngster up and stealing his iPhone. Yes, the 12-year-old had an iPhone.

The victim told cops he was inside the subway station at Hanson and Ashland places at around 5 pm when the thugs approached him from behind, and choked and punched him before grabbing his attractive smartphone.

Sketchy storage

A thief busted into an Atlantic Avenue storage unit on Dec. 26, making off with three watches and $3,200.

The victim told cops that he briefly stepped away from his stash at the Storage Deluxe facility at Grand avenues. When he returned at around 1 pm, he found the slide door to the unit bent, and the cash and watches missing from a safe he had stored inside.

©2009 Community Newspaper Group