The 84th Precinct saw an unusually high number of crimes this week — 29 complaints up from 22 this week last year, and 11 more crimes in a 28-day period than last year, according to police records. Comparing this week to the same time last year, there were five more robberies, one more assault, and three more burglaries. But grand larceny and auto theft were both down by one.
“The economy’s not doing so good, so people are stealing things,” one cop explained.
Here’s how the week went down on the bad side of the law.
Alley cats
Three thugs attacked a 41-year-old DUMBO man as he was walking home from the York Street subway station on July 28. The man, who lives on Sands Street near Bridge Street, said he noticed the perps standing in an alley at around 8:40 pm and then felt them following him.
When he turned, one thug hit him with an unknown object across his left eye, requiring stitches. An accomplice then grabbed $50 from the victim’s rear pocket, and the three hoodlums raced off toward Bridge Street.
Penniless
A man attempted to rob a Brooklyn Heights bank on July 28, but instead fled the bank empty-handed.
The 2 pm incident in the branch on Court Street near Remsen Street began when the man approached a teller and asked, “Are you open?”
When she said yes, he then passed a note that read, “100s and 50s — stacks.” The teller refused to comply, and the would-be robber fled.
Vicious!
Cops arrested the son of a Bond Street bodega owner after a petty fight with an employee turned into an emergency rescue on July 29.
A 68-year-old employee of the store, which is near State Street, approached the owner’s son around 1:30 am. The two men started fighting, and soon the son hit the employee with a baseball bat and locked him in the basement.
The victim told cops he doesn’t remember anything after he was hit, but cops said rescue workers took him to the hospital.
Cops then arrested the owner’s son.
Getaway car
A gun-toting thug violently mugged a young couple in Brooklyn Heights on Aug. 1, then raced off in a black SUV.
The victims were walking home on Joralemon Street between Henry Street and Garden Place at around 8:20 pm when a man jumped out of the SUV and pulled a gun.
The man grabbed the woman and pushed her to the sidewalk, and then grabbed her bag. He then jumped back into the car, which quickly peeled off down Joralemon Street.
Cops said they are reviewing security tapes from St. Francis College for more information about the mugging.
Girl-on-girl
Two girls jumped a third in on Pacific Street on Aug. 1, but they didn’t get out without a fight.
The victim, who recently moved to an apartment near Hoyt Street from Hawaii, was walking home at around 12:45 am when two girls grabbed her from behind. One girl tried to steal the victim’s purse, but the savvy girl fought back and the three started punching each other.
The perps eventually ran off without stealing anything.
Bizarre burglary
A burglar broke into a commercial building in Downtown sometime between July 25 and 28 and stole nearly everything in sight.
When employees returned to work on July 28, they noticed that the burglar had climbed into the Duffield Street building, which is between Fulton and Willoughby streets, by removing the air conditioning unit. The burglar then went on a spree, stealing office supplies and electronics, credit cards, a bottle of Champagne, a case of Pepsi, and even a case of toilet paper, for a total of nearly $5,000.
The burglars attempted to use the credit cards, but the business owners cancelled them before too much damage could be done.
Gym bugs
A crafty thief broke into a man’s locker at an Atlantic Avenue gym on July 30, despite the victim’s best efforts to avoid theft.
The Bronx man had locked his wallet inside his backpack, which he placed in a secured locker, and then he went to the showers. But when the victim returned later, both his locker and backpack were wide open and the wallet was gone.
It is unclear if the man left the key anywhere around the backpack itself at the gym, which is near Court Street, and has been a frequent target for locker room thieves.
Bad directions
Burglars broke into at least five cars this week and stole navigation systems and other electronics.
“Navigation systems are the new removable radios — everybody’s stealing them from cars,” a cop source said. Here’s a round-up:
• A perp broke into a commercial van on Montague Street on July 28, making off with the construction company’s tools. The victim told cops that he had parked the new GM van at around 9:30 pm near Clinton Street. When he returned a half-hour later, his rear door was broken and he noticed that a burglar had stolen $800 worth of drills.
• Another perp broke into a van on Clinton Street on July 29. The victim had parked his van near Atlantic Avenue, and when he returned an hour later, his navigation system was gone.
• A thief broke into a man’s SUV on Clark Street on July 30. The car owner works between Cadman Plaza West and Henry Street, and when he returned to his car around 11 am, he noticed that an envelope holding $8,200 worth of business checks and credit cards was missing.
• Also on July 30, a burglar broke into a contractor’s work van that was parked on Atlantic Avenue and stole $1,200 worth of drills and a navigation system. The van’s owner had parked between Adams and Smith streets at around 1 pm, and when he returned several hours later, the tools were missing.
• A hoodlum smashed the front window of a new BMW sedan parked on in DUMBO on Aug. 1. The car’s owner, who is from upstate and was visiting a friend, and she had parked on Pearl Street near Front Street at 10 pm. But when the victim went to her car the next morning, her iPod, expensive golf clubs, and sunglasses were missing.
— Sarah Portlock
