July 4 grab
A thug swiped $100 from a 30-year-old woman on the Fourth of July during a confrontation on Avenue U.
The victim said she was nearing E. 66th Street at 2:30 pm when the thief approached.
“Give me your money,” the man demanded. When the woman refused, the goon swiped the cash from her hand and ran off.
Patted down
Three goons frisked a 20-year-old man on E. 56th Street on July 5, taking his bookbag.
The victim was nearing Avenue H at 3 pm when the suspects stopped him and patted him down.
Punched and robbed
Two thugs attacked a 24-year-old on Mill Avenue on July 7 — running off with the young man’s cellphone.
The victim was nearing Avenue T at 1:20 pm when the thieves ran up to him and punched him in the face.
Bottle bruisers
A 35-year-old womman was arrested after she attacked a male friend with a bottle during an Independence Day celebration on Avenue K.
The two were hanging out inside a house near E. 43rd Street at 11 pm when the woman attacked the 56-year-old victim, leaving him with a head injury.
Radio-free navigation
A thief broke into a 2006 Lincoln Navigator parked on E. 48th Street on June 30, swiping the car’s pricey radio.
The 50-year-old who owned the Navigator said he left the vehicle parked between Avenues I and J at 11 pm. When he returned the next morning, he learned that the vehicle’s audio equipment had been ripped out of the dashboard.
Jewelry grabber
A thief made off with some jewelry from a Kings Plaza store on July 7 — and all he had to do was ask for it.
Workers at the store inside the mall at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U said the thief came up to their counter at noon and asked to see one item.
When an employee pulled the bauble from the display case, the thief snatched it from her hand and ran off.
Sports swindle
A thief swiped an assortment of baseball cards that an E. 31st Street resident had purchased online.
The 25-year-old victim told police that he had ordered the cards, but the thief managed to intercept the delivery on July 5 — making off with the goods.
Hoodwinked on Ralph
A con man swindled a 49-year-old woman out of $2,000 on July 5 in a classic “found money scam.”
The charlatan approached the woman at the corner of Ralph Avenue and Avenue N at 2:30 pm, claiming that he had just found $50,000.
The thief offered to share the money with the woman, as long as she put up some of her own money as a sign of good faith.
The woman withdrew $2,000 and gave it to the con man — who ran off with the loot.
Avenue V sneaks
Two thieves snuck into an Avenue V building on July 6, then threatened to brain a building superintendent with a pipe if he didn’t look the other way.
The custodian was doing his rounds in the Marine Park building near Kimball Street at 8:50 am when he saw the two suspects in an area that is closed to the public.
When the custodian confronted them, one of the would-be thieves, a 23-year-old man, said he would grab a pipe and beat the custodian. The second suspect, a 26-year-old woman, claimed that she was going to call a few friends over and “burn the building down.”
The building custodian didn’t take the threats lightly. He called police, who charged the couple with burglary.
— Thomas Tracy
