61st Precinct
Sheepshead Bay—Homecrest—
Manhattan Beach—Gravesend
Up in smoke
A crook who was either a master thief or just a heavy smoker stole 243 cartons of cigarettes from the back of a truck — while it was in motion — on Avenue U on Sept 20.
The drivers told police that they were near E. 15th Street at 3:20 pm when a passerby hailed them and said that their trailer was open. Looking back, the drivers noticed that $24,263 worth of cigarettes were missing, as well as a printer and scanner worth $1,500.
The drivers went on to tell police that they had checked the truck before they’d left from a Nostrand Avenue location, and that the trailer’s back was shut and fastened with a Master Lock.
Pack attack
Seven thugs beat and robbed a man on E. 16th Street on Sept. 19, taking the victim’s cellphone.
The victim told police that he was near Avenue R at 2:30 pm when the mad-dog pack of goons attacked, sending him spiraling to the ground with a slug to the face, before taking his valuables.
Bus stop bandits
Two thugs attacked and robbed a man as he was waiting for the B3 bus on Ocean Avenue on Sept. 17.
The victim told police that he was near Avenue U at 3:15 pm when the partners in crime approached him.
“Give me your phone right now,” one of them snarled. The victim refused, at first, but he was less resistant after the crooks roughed him up and held him by throat against the bus stop, cops said.
Playstation free
A thief burglarized a woman’s E. 15th Street apartment on Sept. 21 — taking a TV and her Sony Playstation 3.
The victim told police that she’d left her apartment between Avenues T and U Street at 10:30 am, and returned to find her property missing. The burglar apparently entered the victim’s apartment through a rear wind, adjacent to a fire escape, cops said.
Avenue X slasher
A 44-year-old man was arrested for slashing a woman with a knife, beating her mercilessly, and robbing her on Avenue X on Sept. 23.
The victim told police that she was between Batchelder and Bragg streets at 7:42 pm when the suspect’s knife suddenly flashed through the air, slicing her right forearm and pointer finger. The suspect then allegedly began pummeling the victim, smashing her in the face and then throwing her to the ground, before making off with her cellphone.
When the suspect was arrested, the responding officer found the victim’s cellphone in his possession, cops said.
Blade raid
A knife-wielding thug stole a woman’s cellphone on Nostrand Avenue on Sept. 21.
The victim told police that she was arguing with the goon between Avenues W and X at 4:44 am. Apparently fed up, the crook drew a knife and took the victim’s phone, cops said.
Come on in
A crook burglarized a woman’s Avenue Z apartment on Sept. 20 — taking $80 and a laptop.
The victim told police that she was asleep on a sofa inside her home between Haring and Brown streets at 4 pm, and had left her front door unlocked in anticipation of her husband’s return.
Unfortunately, an opportunistic burglar took the unlocked door as an open invitation to loot her home, and snuck upstairs, where he helped himself to her cash and computer, cops said.
Ransacked
A thief nabbed $200 from an E. Second Street apartment on Sept 19.
The victim told police that he had left his home between Avenues W and X at 11:45 pm, and returned later to find his front door had been kicked in, his apartment ransacked, and his cash missing.
— Colin Mixson
Reach reporter Colin MIxson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.