Light brigade
Memo to car thieves: Don’t run red lights.
A auto-swiping hoodlum learned that lesson the hard way on March 20, ending up getting arrested for his September theft of a Honda after a cop pulled him over for running a light on Second Place.
The thief’s bad luck began at around 1:30 pm, when Officer Jose Cofresi spotted his traffic infraction and moved in for the summons.
That’s when the 38-year-old driver took off, speeding away — then jammed on the brakes so that Cofresi would slam into him.
At that point, the perp fled on foot, but Cofresi nabbed him. Charges included the car theft, criminal possession of stolen property and, of course, the red light violation.
He’s a Hicks
Cops nabbed a thug who broke into a car on Hicks Street on March 16.
Police said that officers were watching the area near Summit Street after getting complaints of car break-ins there, but were happy at their good fortune when a thief bashed into a car at around 1:20 pm.
The 37-year-old was quickly apprehended with stolen property, burglars’ tools and drugs.
Ankle bites
A gunman strafed a 17-year-old man in the Red Hook Houses on March 19, releasing a fusillade of six bullets, but hitting the teen only in the ankle.
Cops said that victim of the 9 pm shooting offered no description of the gunman, but six shell casings were recovered at scene.
Phone rob
A perp took advantage of a driver’s fear of getting an alternate-side-of-the-street parking ticket on March 17, robbing him at gunpoint on Butler Street.
The victim told cops that he had gone to the corner of Hoyt Street to check on his car at around 1 am when a perp sneaked up from behind and said, “Give it over.”
The thug then simulated having a gun, which prompted the victim to relinquish $70 and his phone.
The gunman then told his victim to kneel down behind a staircase and wait for five minutes, but the man didn’t dawdle before flagging down a cop.
A canvas of the area, however, was negative.
Gun mug
A gunman got cash and a Blackberry from a man near the corner of Hoyt and Baltic streets on March 19.
Cops said that the victim was searching for an ATM at around midnight when a man approached and said, “What are you looking for?”
Understanding that this was a rhetorical question, the ATM-seeking man fled, but changed his departure plans after the thief pulled out a gun.
The hoodlum then took $50 and the phone.
