A DNA match to a crowbar left behind at a Sheepshead Bay burglary spelled doom for a 50-year-old alleged thief last week.
Police said that Steven Denker was taken into custody in connection with the November 26, 2009 break-in on Ford Street near Voorhies Avenue.
Police said that someone forced their way into the address with the crowbar and left with an assortment of jewelry, gold watches and diamond earrings.
The thief must have worked up a sweat, however. After ransacking the home he was so tired that he forgot to take the crowbar with him.
DNA recovered from the crowbar was ultimately linked with Denker, who had his genetic makeup on file with the state’s criminal justice database for an unrelated offense, police said.
Gunman grab
Cops have arrested a 34-year-old man in connection with a shooting in Coney Island.
Prosecutors said that suspect John Thomas has been linked to a shooting on Avenue W near Stillwell Avenue back on January 4, when he allegedly pumped four bullets into another man.
Witnesses alleged that he walked up to two men near the corner just after 1 p.m. patting the gun that rested in his pocket.
“You know what this is about,” witnesses recalled him saying.
Moments later, he allegedly pulled the gun and opened fire, striking one of the men, leaving him with intestinal injuries that needed multiple surgeries to correct.
Detectives apprehended Thomas last week, charging him with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.
TGI Friday fighters busted
Two people were arrested following a night of brawls at TGI Friday’s.
Cops were called to the popular Harkness Avenue eatery sometime before 10 p.m. on February 19 when a fight broke out among a group of men.
George Gonzalez, 25, was arrested at the scene for allegedly throwing punches and slinging threats, officials said.
Cops were called back just after midnight to take a 23-year-old man into custody after he allegedly tried to stab another customer with a steak knife during an argument.
Cops tried to escort the man, identified as Marlon McLean, out of the restaurant, but he refused to go, police alleged. He was put in handcuffs after a brief struggle and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, officials said.
Grandmother arrested in child’s death
The grandmother of the 11-year-old boy who died in a Coney Island apartment blaze was arrested last week for leaving the child home alone when the fire was set.
Officials said that hours after a fire ripped through her apartment on West 24th Street near Surf Avenue on February 16, Melinda McLain found herself in custody, charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.
Investigators determined that McLain had left her grandchild Tavon Turpin alone in the apartment when the fire was set. It’s believed that Turpin was playing with matches when the fire started.
Turpin died in the blaze. McLain, who reportedly returned as firefighters were putting out the fire, was so overcome with grief that she had to be taken to an area hospital for evaluation.
Robbery solved
Cops have arrested a 29-year-old man in connection with a robbery in Bensonhurst.
Police said that Aurelio Aguirre and another man allegedly pulled a gun and a knife on their victim during a confrontation at the corner of 18th and New Utrecht avenues on the night of January 16.
Aguirre and the other suspect, believed to be his brother, allegedly ran off with the suspect’s cell phone and MP3 player.
Police said they apprehended Aguirre’s brother a short time after the heist.
Aguirre was taken into custody last week, charged with robbery in the first degree, grand larceny, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
Locker looter busted
Police have slapped handcuffs on a locker looter who allegedly preyed on customers at Bally’s Fitness on Sheepshead Bay Road.
Officials said that 31-year-old Wilson Tamay was taken into custody at about 6 p.m. on February 17 when he was allegedly seen entering the men’s locker room inside the gym near Shore Parkway.
When a worker noticed that Tamay didn’t leave the locker room after a few minutes, the police were called.
Responding officers reportedly found a mesh bag on Tamay containing a number of stolen items taken from members lockers, according to prosecutors.
Tamay was charged with criminal possession of stolen property and other crimes.
Killed in deli dispute
A 25-year-old man was gunned down in Coney Island following a dispute in a Mermaid Avenue deli, officials said.
Police said that the victim, identified as Adam James, was inside the deli near West 32nd Street just before midnight on February 15 when sources said he was confronted by someone he had an earlier argument with.
After a fierce exchange of words, James left the deli and approached his car.
Once he got inside, his opponent pulled a gun and opened fire, pumping upwards of five shots into the vehicle.
James reportedly got out of the car and fell to the ground, witnesses told police. He died at the scene.
The gunman fled, said police, who are asking anyone with information regarding the man’s whereabouts to come forward.
Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
Chased down
Three thugs are being sought for chasing a 31-year-old man through Sheepshead Bay during an attempted robbery.
The victim told police that he was on his way home at 8:45 p.m. on February 9 when the three suspects confronted him at the corner of Avenue W and East 17th Street.
That’s a nice phone,” one of the thieves said, adding, “I got a gun. Let me get it.”
Instead of forking the phone over, the victim ran off.
The thieves gave chase, but abandoned their pursuit after a few blocks.
