NYPD plucker
A mattress mover caught swiping a ring from a Homecrest home tried to avoid arrest by flashing his own badge and claiming to be “on the job,” police alleged.
Cops said that they grabbed 35-year-old Jose Ortiz shortly after an East 13th Street woman accused him of taking a ring as he delivered a mattress to her address between Avenues S and T on March 26.
When cops frisked him, they allegedly turned up an NYPD shield, a pair of handcuffs and the stolen ring.
That’s when Ortiz said he was working undercover, said police, who took the would-be thief into custody on grand larceny charges and reported him to the NYPD impersonations unit.
Sovereign swipers
Talk about waiting for the perfect moment: A 41-year-old woman was mugged of her cash seconds after she exited a Sovereign Bank on Avenue P last week.
The woman said that she had just taken out $3,000 from the branch, located near East 3rd Street, at 11 a.m. on March 24 when a white male in his forties crept up behind her and snatched the cash from her hands.
The two fought, but the thief managed to overpower the woman and knock her to the ground.
He was last seen running to a tan minivan idling nearby.
No injuries were reported.
Cops are asking anyone with information to call the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential.
Water meter menaces
A clever ruse took a wrong turn when two thieves posing as water meter readers decided to bust into a Marine Park home on March 24.
Cops from the 63rd Precinct were told that the two men went to the East 36th Street home near Quentin Road at 2:40 p.m. and knocked on the door, claiming that they were there to check the meter.
But they soon drew impatient, officials said. One of them forced open a window and crawled inside, not knowing that the 62-year-old homeowner was there.
The thief let his partner in and swiped a safe containing a number of important papers, officials said. No injuries were reported.
Cops were asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 63rd Precinct at (718) 258-4411. All calls will be kept confidential.
Bus grab
A 14-year-old boy had his cell phone swiped from his hands as he rode a B82 bus up Kings Highway March 26.
The victim said that the bus had just stopped at Quentin Road at 1:14 p.m. when an older teen grabbed his phone and ran off with it.
Cops were still looking for the thief as this paper went to press.
Pocket runners sought
Police are looking for two teens who robbed a 13-year-old boy in Marine Park March 23.
The victim said that he was nearing the corner of Avenue T and East 33rd Street at 2:20 p.m. when the two teens approached.
“Run your pockets,” the thieves demanded before making off with teen’s $20, cell phone and wallet.
Slashed during squabble
A woman received a cut just above her eye during a brawl inside a Flatlands apartment last week.
The victim said that she was inside the East 55th Street home near Avenue J just after 5 p.m. on March 26 when a 20-year-old woman she was arguing with lunged at her with a knife.
Responding officers took the unnamed attacker into custody, charging her with assault.
Protection find
A janitor cleaning the grounds of a local yeshiva made a surprising find: a .32-caliber revolver on the floor.
The gun, which was loaded, was found outside the Kings Highway school near East 29th Street at 7:30 p.m. on March 27.
The janitor immediately reported the discovery to police, who confiscated the weapon.
Chunkies raid
A chunk of inventory was taken from Kings Highway boutique Chunkies last week.
Witnesses told police that they saw four males leaving the store, located near East 13th Street, at 4:20 a.m. on March 24.
The men were apparently carrying black garbage bags full of merchandise after they had cut the security gate and busted through the store’s glass door. They then disappeared into the night.
Police estimated that 70 articles of clothing, as well as $6,000 in receipts, were taken from the store.
Thief focuses on E 55th St.
East 55th Street between Avenues J and K became a happy hunting ground for a thief with a jewelry addiction.
Police said that two homes on the block were both raided on March 26 right around the same time.
In the first instance, someone broke into a home through a back door and made off with some jewelry.
A short time later, the second home was burglarized, although police do not know just how the thief got inside. An assortment of jewelry was also taken from the second home, they said.
Door kicker sought
A thief broke into a Flatbush Avenue home the easiest way he knew how — by kicking in the front door.
Police said that the door to the apartment near Avenue L was busted open sometime after 7 p.m. on March 27.
The victimized tenant said she didn’t know what was taken when she made her report, police said.
Starting young
A 12-year-old was arrested for burglarizing a Flatlands home March 24.
Officials said the youngster entered the East 57th Street home near Flatlands Avenue just before 9 a.m.
He was reportedly caught as he exited the home with an undisclosed amount of property.
Playing the blues
After what he went through on March 28, a 48-year-old motorist could have written a sad song about his experience.
It’s a shame, then, that someone swiped a pair of guitars from his car, which he left unlocked.
The victim told police that he had exited his car in the Toys R Us parking lot on Flatbush Avenue at 2:15 p.m. He left the toy store a short time later to find that someone had helped himself to his guitars.
This was the second time that a motorist had their car looted thanks mostly to the fact that he had left the car unlocked.
Cops were told that a Mill Island man thought that his car was safe left unlocked near his East 65th Street home on March 24, but soon learned otherwise.
A somewhat daring devil entered the car, removing his credit cards and cell phone, police said.
Held hostage in own home
Two thieves grabbed a Bergen Beach woman outside her front door, forced her inside and handcuffed her as they tossed the place for valuables.
The woman said that she was just about to step inside her home on East 72nd Street near Avenue T at 4 a.m. March 18 when the thieves attacked.
The thugs bound the woman bound and fled with $3,000, a variety of electronics and some jewelry, police said.
Held up in Mill Island
A 55-year-old woman was held up at gunpoint as she walked through Mill Island on March 16.
The victim told police that she was on East 65th Street between Avenues T and U at 10:10 p.m. when an unidentified black male approached.
The thief pulled a gun and ordered her to hand over her property. He then fled with her belongings, leaving her uninjured.
This was the first of two disturbing gunpoint robberies that have taken place in and around Mill Island in a two week span.
On March 12, two males held up a 36-year-old as he walked through a Rite Aid parking lot on Mill Avenue near Avenue U. The thieves fled with the victim’s wallet.
Detectives were investigating both incidents as this paper went to press.
Cops are asking anyone with information regarding the two incidents to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 63rd Precinct at (718) 258-4411. All calls will be kept confidential.
