Craigslist con busted
The search for a quick profit led to some time in the pen last week when a thief who allegedly swiped a Bergen Beach motorist’s tires put the stolen merchandise on Craigslist, and ended up selling them back to his victim, police alleged.
Officials said that Joel Walton, 21, was taken into custody on February 4 after a meet-up with his potential customer…and the police.
The victim alerted cops to the scam just a day after someone swiped the tires and rims to his 2008 Infiniti left on East 71st Street during the early morning hours of February 3.
The disgruntled owner said that he logged onto Craigslist to buy a new set of wheels, and in his search came across his old tires, which Walton was allegedly selling.
The victim called police, who joined Walton when he went to East New York to purchase the wheels from Walton. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.
Handguns on Kings Highway
Two men were shot following an argument on Kings Highway near East 47th Street last week, officials said.
Officials said that they responded to the shooting at 9:33 p.m. on February 1.
When they arrived at the scene, they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds.
One of the men, 20, had been shot in the leg and abdomen, officials said. The second man, 23, was shot in the leg.
Witnesses said that two to three black males were responsible for the shooting. It was unclear what sparked the gunfire as this paper went to press.
Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 63rd Precinct at (718) 258-4411. All call will be kept confidential.
High stakes crime
Police are looking for the thief who swiped $6,000 in cash and an assortment of pricey jewelry from an East 65th Street home last week.
The 69-year-old homeowner told police that someone forced open the rear window to her home near Strickland Avenue sometime after 5:30 p.m. on January 31 — breaking the window in the process.
The thief ransacked the home, taking the cash and jewels, before the victim returned home, cops were told.
Hitting the reset button
Two teenage thieves threatened another teen into giving over his cell phone, but quickly gave the phone back to him when they realized they were being observed.
But the reboot did little to dissuade cops from putting them in a jail cell.
The 14-year-old victim told police that he was on Flatlands Avenue between Ryder Avenue and East 38th Street just before 4 p.m. on January 28 when the two teenage thieves approached and threatened him.
They reportedly scared the teen to the point that he handed his phone over, but soon gave it back when they realized that someone was watching.
The witness ultimately called police, who took the unnamed suspects into custody without incident.
Playing the blues
An East 49th Street resident lost his guitar and some pricey electronics during a recent burglary.
The 47-year-old victim said that he left his home near Avenue M just before noon on February 4.
He returned a short time later, only to find that someone had pried open a side window.
Electronics swipe
A thief broke into a Marine Park home last week, taking an undetermined amount of electronics.
The victim, 69, told police that someone had broke into her East 34th Street home through a front window sometime after 1 p.m. on February 3.
Phone snag on Ralph
A young woman was punched in the face and robbed of her cell phone as she walked by the corner of Flatlands and Ralph avenues last week.
The victim, 18, said that she was nearing the corner at 6 p.m. on February 2 when an unidentified black male ran up to her.
After hitting her, the thief swiped the phone from her hand and ran off.
He remained at large as this paper went to press.
Nabbed for robbery
Cops have arrested one of two thieves responsible for a hold up on Flatlands Avenue and Avenue L.
Prosecutors said that the two teenage thieves approached two other teens at the corner at 9 p.m. on January 26 and yanked off one of the victims’ jackets.
The teen reportedly went through the jacket pockets, claiming that if he didn’t find anything of value he was going to kill the victim.
The duo then pulled a knife on the victims, running off with an iPhone.
Cops caught up with one of the suspects — a 15-year-old juvenile — earlier this week and was charged with two counts of robbery in the first degree, grand larceny, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
His accomplice was still at large as this paper went to press.
Damaged, but unbroken
A 25-year-old Mill Basin told police last week that someone tried to break into his garage, but was unable to get inside.
The homeowner, who lives near East 51st Street, told police that someone had tried to force the door at 9:30 p.m. on January 27, damaging the lock in the attempt.
The garage door, however, was never breached, the resident said.
More car break-ins
Three cars were broken into on area streets during the first four days of February.
Officials said that someone broke into a car owned by a 63-year-old woman as it sat in the CVS parking lot on Ralph Avenue near Avenue M just after 5 p.m. on February 1.
Whoever entered the vehicle made off with $2,000 and the victim’s credit and debit cards.
The next day, a thief entered a car parked on East 38th Street near Avenue L at around 4 p.m., taking a 42-year-old woman’s credit cards.
The car was unlocked at the time, the woman admitted.
Cops marked the third day of February by taking a report from a 40-year-old Bergen Beach woman who said that someone smashed the passenger side window of her car as it sat on East 69th Street near Avenue T.
The woman’s wallet was inside the car when the thief rifled through the cabin, police were told.
Home invasion
Three thugs forced their way into an East 57th Street resident’s home, ransacking the place of electronics, jewelry and a cell phone, cops from the 63rd Precinct reported this week.
The victim told police that he was just about to enter his home between avenues H and I at 2:15 a.m. on January 28 when the suspects pulled a gun at him.
The thieves held the victim at bay as they went through his home and ran off with his property.
Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 63rd Precinct at (718) 258-4411. All calls will be kept confidential.
Pocket running
Cops are looking for two thugs who grabbed a 19-year-old by his coat and ordered him to “run his pockets” during a recent altercation.
The victim told police that he was nearing the corner of Avenue L and Utica Avenue at 9 p.m. on January 22 when the unidentified suspects grabbed him.
The thieves ran off with $10, the victim’s cell phone and a music player, officials said.
No injuries were reported.
Help wipe out graffiti
As the ongoing war against graffiti vandalism continues, cops are now offering a $500 reward to anyone with information that can lead them to graffiti vandals.
The hefty reward is part of the city’s new push to rid New York of graffiti, which is one of the leading quality of life complaints brought to police.
Officials said that cleaning up graffiti is essential to the plan, to show that the community is no longer going to tolerate marred and tagged-up walls and street corners.
According to police, there is a perception that if a community will tolerate graffiti, they will tolerate other criminal activities, such as drug dealing and prostitution.
Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism in their neighborhood is urged to contact either 311 or 911.
