Bag grab
A 67-year-old woman was knocked to the ground and robbed of her handbag as she passed the corner of 66th Street and Fifth Avenue last week, officials said.
The victim said that she was nearing the corner at 10 p.m. on July 19 when the unidentified thief threw her to the floor.
The man then scooped up her pocketbook, which included $65 in cash and a $10 MetroCard, officials said.
Cops were still looking for the thief as this paper went to press.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 68th Precinct at (718) 439-4211. All calls will be kept confidential.
Poor choice in friends
A 41-year-old man suffered a cut to his ear during a skirmish in the back of a building on Third Avenue near 76th Street.
The victim said that he was enjoying himself at 9:30 p.m. on July 19 when a 20-year-old white male struck him in the head with a water glass.
The shattered glass cut the victim’s ear, officials said.
Cops were told that the victim didn’t know his attacker. Nor did he know why the man cracked a glass over his head.
While he didn’t know his attacker, he did say that he was “familiar” with his friends.
Goofy grab
Eleven Disney watches valued at $1,500 were removed from a Bay Ridge Avenue home last week, officials said.
The 59-year-old victim, who lives near Narrows Avenue, told police that someone forced his or her way through a side door to get inside.
Over $6,100 in property was taken, along with the watches about $600 in cash and a $3,500 watch.
The burglary took place between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on July 16.
High-rise heists
A thief with no fear of heights is being sought for raiding two apartments in a 65th Street high-rise recently.
Cops from the 68th Precinct were told that someone broke into both a 29th floor apartment and a 30th floor apartment at 260 65th Street near Third Avenue.
One of the tenants, 56, said that he left his apartment at noon on July 16 to go to a flower shop.
When he returned at 1 p.m., he realized that someone had crept in through a window. Nearly $12,000 in property, including a watch, laptop computer and a 1.3 Karat diamond ring, were missing, officials said.
The evening before, an 85-year-old tenant on the 30th floor said that someone entered his apartment through a terrace window.
The thief removed $440 in cash, two cameras and a “priceless” Mets 2007 opening day commemorative baseball bat.
Cops were told that the entire building was undergoing rehabilitation and that construction workers were using scaffolding and other pieces of equipment as they continued with their project.
Game over
A thief broke into a home on 68th Street last week, taking an assortment of video games.
The 34-year-old victim told police that she left her home, located near Fourth Avenue, at 7 p.m. on July 12.
She returned home at 12:30 a.m. on July 13 only to discover that someone had forced open a window.
The robber made off with an X-Box game console, a laptop computer, a Nintendo DS and three games: Halo 3, Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry, officials said.
Cops were looking for the burglar as this paper went to press.
Five for the price of 0
A crew of fast-moving thieves made off with five phones during a raid at a local T-Mobile store, officials said.
Police said that the suspects, described as three black men and a black woman, entered the store, located at 440 86th Street, at 2:30 p.m. on July 12.
Without alerting any employees, the thieves managed to remove the phones from their security alarms and run off with them, officials said.
The theft wasn’t discovered until it was too late, officials said.
Police were looking for the thieves as this paper went to press.
Help wipe out graffiti
As the ongoing war against graffiti vandalism continues, cops are now offering up to $500 in reward money to anyone who can offer up information that can lead to graffiti vandals.
The hefty reward is part of the city’s new push to rid New York of graffiti vandals.
Graffiti 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 is urged to contact either 311 or 911.
Killed with pool cue
An 18-year-old Russian immigrant was killed last week during a heated brawl at a Brighton Beach billiard hall.
Police said that the unnamed victim was inside Boardwalk Billiards at 3200 Coney Island Avenue just before 2:30 a.m. on July 15 when witnesses said that he began having words with a group of men.
The group began to fight, officials said. The victim went down after one of the brawlers struck him with a pool cue, officials said.
Responding paramedics took the victim to Lutheran Medical Center, where he died of his injuries, officials said.
As of this writing, cops had not released the name of the victim, pending notification of family members overseas.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to come forward.
Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
Victim phone-in
A delivery man for a Sheepshead Bay Chinese restaurant was lured to an apartment building on East 12th Street, where he was robbed of his receipts, cops from the 61st Precinct said this week.
The victim, 17, said that he was dropping off an order inside the building, located near Ocean Avenue, at 5:40 p.m. on July 20 when the thief, described as an unidentified white male, opened the door for him.
When the delivery man entered the lobby, the thief put a knife to his neck and robbed him of $250 before running off into the night.
Investigators later learned that the call to order the food came from a phone booth down the block, leading them to believe that the entire theft was planned.
MisBBhaving
A 27-year-old BB gun owner was arrested last week when he opened fire on a motorist on a Sheepshead Bay intersection.
The victim said that he was passing the corner of Langham Street and Shore Boulevard at 6:15 p.m. on July 19 when he ended up in the sights of East 29th Street resident Valeriy Inyachkin.
Inyachkin allegedly opened fire, shattering the passenger side window and side-view mirror.
Cops took Inyachkin into custody after a short search. He reportedly had the BB gun on him when he was taken into custody.
He was charged with criminal mischief, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
Fencing fences
The doors to a Bensonhurst Jewish center are now more open to the community at large – all thanks to a group of thieves who made off with their five foot high fence.
Cops from the 62nd Precinct were told that the fence, which ran 75 feet down the length of the Jacob Jewish Community Center, 6222 23rd Avenue, was uprooted and carted away sometime between July 11 and the afternoon of July 16.
Cops did not disclose what the gate was made of, although they said it was a safe bet that whoever took it probably planned to sell the fence to a scrap metal yard.
Late-night shopper
Over $500 in cash, as well as some cigarettes and lottery tickets, were removed from a 17th Avenue grocery during a recent burglary, officials said.
Workers at the store, located near 63rd Street, told police that they closed up for the night at 1 a.m. on July 16.
The next morning, they discovered that someone had forced open both a metal gate and a screen door before beginning their late-night shopping spree.
Cops were continuing their search for the burglars as this paper went to press.
Sex for sale
Vice cops apprehended a would-be hooker and her sugar mama during an undercover operation which took them to a basement apartment on East 7th Street and Avenue X, officials said.
Police said that an undercover cop showed up for a rendezvous at the home of 32-year-old Marina Alexezva at 3:30 p.m. on July 17.
Alexezva allegedly told the cop that he could have sex with her 40-year-old friend Olena Poderzova, who was also at the apartment, for $200 an hour.
The cop didn’t go for the deal and instead arrested both women for prostitution and solicitation.
Cops did not disclose how the investigation led the officer to Alexezva’s home.
Man. Beach mop up
Sun worshippers at Manhattan Beach are being targeted by nimble-fingered thieves, police said this week.
Cops said that they are investigating two property snatches at the popular summer spot over the weekend.
In the first incident, a 28-year-old woman said she left her wallet on a picnic table on the beach near the corner of Exeter Street and Oriental Boulevard at 3 p.m. on July 19 so she could run up to a concession stand and get some food.
When she returned, her wallet, which contained $70 and some credit cards, was missing.
The next afternoon, a beachgoer claimed that someone made off with her Betty Boop bag, which she had left on her blanket.
Her cell phone, some cash and a pair of sunglasses were in the bag when it was taken, officials said.
Unhealthy move
An 18-year-old gym rat lost her credit cards and school ID to a thief working out his sticky fingers at the Bally’s Total Fitness at 1921 86th Street.
The victim said that she left her property in a gym locker at 11 a.m. on July 16.
She returned a short time later, but the locker, which she admitted to leaving unlocked, had already been rifled through.
Salon selector
Cops are hoping to get their hands on the thief responsible for stealing from an employee at the Grand Nail Salon, 2012 Cropsey Avenue.
The employee said that she left her bag under her workstation on July 13 and only left her area for a few minutes.
When she returned, her bag, as well as $180 in cash and some credit cards, were gone.
A surveillance camera showed an unidentified black woman grab her bag and put it in a larger blue bag before walking out of the store.
Cops were trying to find the thief as this paper went to press.
Still flimming and flamming
Cops are continuing their search for an identity thief who police said recently emptied out a Coney Island man’s bank account.
Police said that the suspect entered an HSBC bank at 200 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights back on June 16 and used a Coney Island resident’s identity and bank information to fill out a withdrawal slip.
He then looted the victim’s bank account and walked out of the bank without being stopped, since everyone believed that he was the victim.
Armed with a surveillance photo, cops are asking anyone with information about this man to come forward.
Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
