90th Precinct
Southside–Williamsburg
Reefer madness
Cops cuffed a guy who they say beat up a S. Second Street store owner on Aug. 10 after the latter reprimanded him for smoking pot in front of his business.
The clerk told the stoner to beat it after he lit up a joint in front of the store near Havemeyer Street around 10:25 pm, but the toker was not having it, police reported.
The suspect allegedly went to his car, grabbed a bat, and whacked the victim across the arm, police said. Not satisfied, he got on his phone, told someone to “get my gun,” ran down the street, and came back with a piece, the police report stated.
The suspect cocked it, put it in his store owner’s face, but luckily did not pull the trigger, cops said. Police nabbed him later.
Cab grab
Some dirtbag robbed a cabbie after hitching a ride to Seigel Street on Aug. 11, police said.
The taxi driver picked up the baddie around 9:30 pm and was driving between Humbolt Street and Bushwick Avenue when the crook put what could have been a gun to his back and told him to hand over everything he had, authorities said. The cabbie coughed up $150 and the rogue took off, cops said.
Ol’ dirty hat scam
A trio of swindlers picked $2,500 out of a woman’s pocketbook on S. Ninth Street on Aug. 8 with a novel distraction, according to police.
The woman took the money out of the bank and was near Roebling Street around 1:30 pm when the three walked up to her, and one of the scam artists told her that her hat was dirty and stopped to “help” clean it.
Meanwhile, an accomplice inched the envelope containing the cash from the victim’s pocketbook, and they all left. She realized after they walked away that her money was missing, police said.
Roof access
A cat burglar broke into a Graham Avenue store through a hole in the roof sometime overnight on Aug. 12.
The owner closed the shop near Metropolitan Avenue around 9 pm and came back around 8 am the next day to find someone had broken in through the ceiling. The freebooter grabbed $4,000 and split, authorities said.
— Dennis Lynch
