NYPD cabbie
A knife-wielding thief tried to rob a cab driver in Flatlands on May 17 — but his plans were foiled by the quick-thinking cabbie.
The would-be thief, who was not named, reportedly jumped into the cab and pulled out his weapon while demanding the driver’s money.
The cabbie immediately drove to the 63rd Precinct, which is on Brooklyn Avenue near Avenue J, alerting the cops that he had a fiendish fare in the back of the cab.
Short timer
Cops from the 63rd Precinct say they have caught ELF — the notorious graffiti vandal who has left his tag throughout Mill Basin and Flatlands.
Police said that ELF, otherwise known as 24-year-old Thomas Trimarco, was arrested on May 18, charged with eight counts of making graffiti.
Cops said Trimarco wasn’t nabbed scrawling out his tag, but outside his home in Flatlands, near where several of his greatest graffiti hits were discovered.
On top of that, ELF isn’t that short. He’s a wiry 5’7”, police said.
Sex, lies and extortion
Cops busted a 44-year-old man for extorting his girlfriend — threatening to put a steamy sex tape they made together on the web if she didn’t pay him $1,000.
Officials allege that Noel Lopez sent his 46-year-old beau the video earlier this month, and later made to her threats during a face-to-face meeting on East 37th Street and Flatlands Avenue.
She reportedly delayed Lopez from putting the tape on the web by telling him she was going to get the cash to him, but in the mean time, called the cops.
Investigators nabbed Lopez on May 20, charging him with extortion.
Shoved to the ground
A 21-year-old woman was knocked to the ground and robbed of her purse as she passed the corner of Fillmore and Flatbush avenues on May 18.
The woman said that she was nearing the corner at 9 am when an unidentified male bowled her over and ran off with her bag, which contained $50 and some credit cards.
Eyes on the prize
A thief busted into Stewart Paul Opticians on Strickland Avenue in Mill Basin on May 22, swiping the cash register and an assortment of electronics.
Police said that the thief cut through the store’s security gate and smashed through the glass window sometime after 7:30 pm.
Ryder raid
A thief broke into a home on Ryder Street on May 15, taking $5,000 and some electronics.
Police said that the suspect forced open to the front door to the home, which is between Flatlands Avenue and Avenue P, sometime after 6 pm.
Fooled out of funds
Cops are investigating a Bergen Beach senior’s claims that he was fooled into giving money to a man claiming to be his nephew in desperate need of bail money.
The 84-year-old East 66th Street resident told cops that he received a panicked call on May 18 from a man who identified himself as the man’s nephew. The man told him he was in trouble with the law and needed $1,800 wired to him.
The senior sent the money, only to learn later that the nephew-in-question was never in trouble nor had called his uncle.
Radio Shack raiders sought
Cops are continuing to look for the gun-toting thieves who raided a local Radio Shack as it was being opened for business on May 16.
Workers at the electronics store, which is on Flatbush Avenue between Avenues T and U, said that they were pulling up the roll-down gates at 10 am when two men approached.
One of the men flashed a gun, forced the employees inside and bound them with duct tape.
The thieves then ransacked the place, taking more than $3,300 in jewelry, an assortment of cell phones, and the employees’ jewelry, police said.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 63rd Precinct at (718) 258-4411. All calls will be kept confidential.
Not so sunny
A bunch of tunnel rats dug their way into Sunnydale Farms on May 13, taking over $1,800 in receipts and several cartons of cigarettes.
Police said someone cut through the rear wall of the Avenue N grocery, which is between East 49th Street and Utica Avenue, sometime after 8:20 pm.
Workers didn’t realize that they had been burglarized until the next morning, when they found a gaping hole in their wall.
Help wipe out graffiti
As the ongoing war against graffiti vandalism continues, cops are offering a $500 reward to anyone with information that can help them arrest neighborhood vandals.
The hefty reward is part of the city’s ongoing push to rid New York of graffiti, the leading quality of life complaint brought to police.
Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism in their neighborhood is urged to contact either 311 or 911.
