88TH PRECINCT
Fort Greene–Clinton Hill
Clean sweep
A burglar stole $500 from a Fort Greene sandwich shop during a late-night break-in on Dec. 14.
The owner of Brooklyn Hero Shop told cops that he suspects the burglar is a member of a cleaning crew he recently hired and informed of a broken window that needed to be held shut with a stick.
The store owner reviewed security footage of the night of the break-in, noting that the cleaning crew locked up and placed the stick on the window before leaving.
At around 4 a.m., cameras show an unknown perp entering the store through the broken window after they banged on it to knock down the stick. Cops have yet to make any arrests in the ongoing investigation.
Tool thieves
Officers from the 88th Precinct are investigating two separate Fort Greene burglaries in which tools with a combined value of $6,000 were stolen.
Both burglaries are believed to have occurred from Dec. 15-18, the first of which took place at a Fort Greene public housing building. The victim told cops he left his tools worth over $2,000 in the building’s elevator equipment room and found the room had been broken into when he returned three days later.
The second victim, a construction worker at a site on 180 Ashland Place, told cops the site’s security gate chain had been clipped and his tools worth over $4,000 were missing on Dec. 18.
Purse poacher
A pickpocket helped themselves to a woman’s purse while she was dining at a Fort Greene Mexican restaurant on Dec. 10.
The 26-year-old woman reported that she was at Tacombi on Lafayette Avenue at around 9 p.m. that evening. The victim told police she left her handbag by her side the whole night, but noticed her purse containing $200 and personal items were missing when she went to leave.
Cops said they are checking the restaurant’s cameras to identify the sneak thief.