90th Precinct
Southside–Bushwick
Penance
An opportunistic goon tried to extort money from a man on Leonard Street on Sept. 22 — by telling the victim that his son was in danger.
The man told police that he was at his home between Moore and Boerum streets at 3:13 pm when he got a phone call from an unknown phone number. The man on the phone told the victim that his son had been in a car accident and had struck his nephew with the car.
The extortionist told the victim he would never see his son again unless he coughed up $2,500. The victim called police, who determined that the victim’s son was at home and was never in any danger. The extortionist has not been caught.
Small change
A guy asking for change on Union Avenue on Sept. 21 turned out to want more than nickels and dimes.
The victim told police he was at the corner of Heyward Street at 3:50 am when a man started walking alongside him. The robber asked for change, but before the victim could reply, the robber pulled out a black firearm and demanded the victim’s cellphone, shirt, jeans, and $75 in cash, then ran off with his ill-gotten goods.
Bad time for a nap
A stealthy robber cut the pants pockets — and their contents — off of a sleeping passenger on the L train on Sept. 21.
The victim told police that he got on the Brooklyn-bound train at Third Avenue in Manhattan at 2:30 am. When the 29-year-old woke up at the Morgan Street stop at 5 am, he noticed that the front and back pockets were cut out of his pants and his iPhone, wallet, passport, debit card, and MetroCard were all gone.
Crash landing
Someone stole — and crashed — a 2013 Nissan Altima that the owner left running outside of a Hewes Street bodega on Sept. 20.
The victim told police that he left his car running and locked when he went into a store at the northeast corner of S. Third Street at 5:30 pm. When he came out a few minutes later, the vehicle was gone.
Police found the car abandoned after the thief crashed it at the corner of Johnson and Graham avenues.
That never works
Two men tried to use a van to tear open a Humboldt Street cash machine and steal the contents on Sept. 20.
An employee of the bodega at the corner of Moore Street told police that he saw the men try to rip the cash machine open at 5 am. He said they attached the front of the machine to a white a van and then revved it off the curb, pulling off the front door of the machine. But they still couldn’t get to the cash. Frustrated, the men rode off.
Bike theft
Two robbers stole a bike from a man at gunpoint on Clymer Street on Sept. 16.
The victim told police that he was stopped at the northwest corner of Kent Avenue at 12:17 am when the robbers put a chrome handgun in his face and told him to get off his bicycle. Then men got on the bike and rode off.
— Danielle Furfaro
