88th Precinct
Fort Greene–Clinton Hill
Funny money
Cops cuffed a man who they say tried to pass fake bills to a Greene Avenue bodega clerk on Sept. 20, then threatened the clerk with a pair of scissors when he refused to take it.
The deli worker said that the suspect came into his store between Grand Avenue and Cambridge Place at 4:45 pm and bought a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. The clerk then noticed something funny about the money and demanded the items back, police said.
The accused refused and brandished the blades, then scrammed with the money and the smokes, according to a law enforcement account. An officer then saw the suspect, who is 43 years old, in front of the store arguing with a cab driver, also about using fake bills, the report relates. The cop arrested the man and found a crack pipe on him, according to police.
Burglaries
The authorities reported three burglaries in the precinct this week, which come on the heels of two on Fort Greene Place that police logged last week. Here’s the rundown:
• First, a burglar hit a home on Fulton Street on Sept. 15, making off with some electronics, cops said.
The 45-year-old victim, who is visiting from Brazil, said he left the building between Saint James Place and Cambridge Place at 10 am, and did not return until 10 pm. When he got back he noticed the apartment door and the living room window, which leads to the fire escape, open, officers said. When the victim scoped the scene further he found that his laptop and electronic tablet were missing, the authorities said.
• The next day, a sneak pushed in an air conditioning unit and stole a bike and other items from a Classon Avenue apartment, cops said.
The owner reported he left the building between Madison Street and Putnam Avenue at 11:30 am, and came home at 2 pm to find his camera, cellphone, some cash, and a bike all taken.
• Then, on Sept. 20, a pugnacious prowler punched in a window on Clinton Avenue, reached into the apartment, and stole a laptop, according to a police report.
The 28-year-old victim, who lives between DeKalb and Lafayette avenues, said the guy punctured the portal with his bare hand at 9:50 pm, grabbed the computer, and jumped a gate and ran away.
Teen terror
Cops cuffed three teens for allegedly stealing a laptop from a Fulton Street coffee shop patron on Sept. 18, and then threatening him once he got the computer back, according to a police report.
The 48-year-old cafe patron said he was working in the establishment between Saint James and Cambridge places at 1:28 pm when the group of youths came in and took his device. He chased them five blocks to Washington Avenue between Willoughby and DeKalb avenues, and managed to grab his property back from one of the suspects, the authorities recounted.
The teens then crowded around the victim, threatening him, before cops arrived and arrested them, officers stated. The suspects are 18, 16, and 15 years old, according to an account.
Bench pressed
A group of degenerates beat up a man who was sitting on a bench in S. Oxford Park on Sept. 15 and robbed him of his cellphone, police said.
The 18-year-old victim said he was just sitting in the park near the corner of Atlantic Avenue and S. Oxford Street at 6:30 pm when the group approached him. The toughs pummelled him in the face, took the gadget, and took off, cops said.
Park disgrace
A thief stole $10 from a woman’s purse as he threatened her with an unknown object near Fort Greene Park on Sept. 18, cops said.
The 25-year-old victim said she was walking near the corner of Washington Park and Willoughby Street at 10:30 pm when the villain came over and jammed his hand in her purse.
“Where’s your wallet? Don’t look at me,” the bandit barked, per police.
He found the $10, then pressed an object to her head and demanded more, according to a report. When nothing more was forthcoming, the fiend ran off into the park, officers said.
Food fight
Authorities arrested a man who supposedly fought a DeKalb Avenue deli worker over some lunch on Sept. 21.
The worker said the suspect came into the store between Fort Greene Place and Saint Felix Street at 11:50 am and ordered a sandwich, chips, and a soda, but refused to pay.
The cashier tried to take the items back, but the accused fought with him, cops said. The worker eventually did reclaim the edibles when cops arrived and cuffed the 28-year-old, police said.
Car raid, then sirens
Cops cuffed a man who they say broke into the key storage box of an Ashland Place parking lot on Sept. 21 and started rummaging through parked cars.
An attendant at the lot between DeKalb Avenue and Fulton Street said he saw the suspect on a security camera at 8:26 am breaking into the box full of car keys, then going through customers’ cars. He alerted the authorities and officers showed up and arrested the 31-year-old suspect, cops said.
Police also reported that the man resisted arrest, injuring an officer, and that they found a bag of marijuana on the suspect after the arrest.
Snooze and lose
A sneak thief stole a woman’s laptop and cellphone by cutting her backpack open while she slept on the subway on Sept. 21, cops said.
The 25-year-old victim said she had the items in her bag when she left for school, taking an F train from Queens to the Carroll Street subway station.
She transferred to a Queens-bound G and got off at the Clinton-Washington station, then walked to her school on Saint James Place between Lafayette Avenue and Clifton Place, cops said.
It wasn’t until she arrived at 7:05 am that she noticed her bag had been sliced open and the items removed, police said.
— Matthew Perlman
