84th Precinct
Brooklyn Heights–DUMBO–Boerum Hill–Downtown
Night prowl
A thief with weird taste broke into a Fourth Avenue apartment during the night of July 31 and stole a man’s cat and 10 pairs of shorts, cops said.
The 50-year-old victim said he locked up the apartment between Bergen and Dean streets before going out to eat at 10:30 pm, and when he returned at 1:39 am the front door was open. His black-and-white cat and 10 pairs of shorts were the only things taken, according to a police report.
The victim said his ex-girlfriend has a set of keys and he suspects she may have done the deed, but the front door of the apartment building was broken, officers stated.
Construction confrontation
A construction worker assaulted a co-worker with a welding torch at a Schermerhorn Street construction site on July 30, police said.
The victim said he was working with the hot-tempered fellow at the construction site between Nevins Street and Third Avenue at 5:25 pm when the guy intentionally ripped his pants. He returned the favor and the welding-torch wielder beaned him with the still-hot rod, law enforcement officials reported.
Break-in broken up
Cops cuffed a 31-year-old man who they say attempted to break into a car parked on Schermerhorn Street on July 28, then threatened the owner with a razor blade when he tried to stop him, the authorities said.
The 36-year-old car owner said he approached his vehicle, which he had parked on the corner of Smith Street at 9 am, and saw the accused rummaging through it. He told the guy to stop, and the suspect punched him in the neck and pulled out the blade, according to a police report.
“If you don’t get out of here, I’m going to stab you,” the suspect said, police said.
Peeper creeper
A shoplifter stole a pair of $2,000 glasses from an optical outlet on Livingston Street on July 28, according to a police report.
Workers in the store between Nevins and Bond streets said the shifty character came in at 5:15 pm, and when a worker turned around to adjust some merchandise, the guy absconded with the specs.
The glasses were a pair of rimless, wood-temple Cartiers, cops said.
Teacher reacher
A ne’er-do-well stole a credit card and cellphone from a teacher’s desk on July 23 inside a school on Flatbush Avenue Extension, officers reported.
The teacher said she was working in the school between Bridge and Tillary streets and went to use the bathroom at 8:55 am.
When she returned, the items had gone for a walk, police said. The scalawag charged $252 to the car before the victim could cancel it, cops said.
Desk jet
A sneak snatched a laptop off of a desk in a Dean Street office on July 30, cops said.
An office worker said she was toiling in the building between Third and Fourth avenues at 10 am, and left the computer on her desk when she walked away.
She returned an hour later to discover the laptop nowhere to be found, the NYPD said. The office is on the first floor of the building, and the front door is open to the public, according to a police report.
Taken pictures
An opportunist grabbed a bag full of camera equipment that the owner left unattended in a coffee shop on Montague Street on July 26, police said.
The unlucky lady was in the restaurant between Henry and Clinton streets at 9:20 pm and left her camera bag on the floor next to her seat, law enforcement officials stated. She realized she didn’t have the bag two hours later and returned to retrieve it, but it was gone, according to a police report.
The bag contained a Nikon camera, five lenses, and other accessories, officers said.
Shopper lifted
A villain stole the wallet from an elderly woman’s purse while she shopped in a Fulton Street department store on July 30, the authorities said.
The 66-year-old shopper reported she was in the store between Flatbush Avenue and Hanover Place at 4:30 pm when someone bumped into her, which made her check her backpack.
She found the bag open and the wallet gone, police said. The bag contained $190 in cash, debit, and credit cards, per a report.
Sands of crime
A gunman shot a man in the leg on Sands Street on July 31, police said.
The victim said he was just standing on the sidewalk between Gold and Navy streets at 1:09 am when he felt a sharp pain in his right leg and collapsed to the ground. He realized he had been shot and called authorities who rushed him to Bellevue Medical Center, according to a police report. He told cops he did not see who shot him or anyone fleeing the scene, officers said.
A game
A couple of punks picked the pocket of a 71-year-old man on a Manhattan-bound A train on July 31, officers recounted.
The victim said the train was near the Jay Street–MetroTech station at 9:30 am when the pair of plotters bumped into him, taking his wallet in the process.
The billfold contained $425 in cash, debit and credit cards, and a senior citizen’s MetroCard, cops said.
Petty cash
A burglar broke into a State Street commercial building on Aug. 1 and stole $110 in cash, cops said.
The business owner said no one was present in the office between Court and Clinton streets from 1 pm until 5:30 pm. When he entered that evening he found the front door forced open and the cash gone, according to NYPD officials.
The bicycle thief
A miscreant rode off on a locked bike from Livingston Street on Aug. 2, while the bike’s owner was shopping in a furniture store, according to the authorities.
The 30-year-old cyclist said she locked up her Surly bike with a Kryponite U-lock between Hoyt and Bond streets at 2:30 pm. She went in a store to do some shopping, and when she returned a half hour later the bike had rolled off, officers stated.
— Matthew Perlman
