88th Precinct
Fort Greene–Clinton Hill
Smoke the pane away
Cops made four arrests at a Grand Avenue apartment on April 25, after an officer says he observed a man smoking marijuana out front.
The law enforcement agent claims he noticed the smoker between Putnam and Gates avenues at 3:10 pm and, when he approached, the fellow took off running into the apartment building.
Police chased the suspect, and during the pursuit he slammed closed a plate glass door, causing it shatter, according to a police report. One of the officers fell during the chase and landed on the broken glass, causing a cut on his right pinky and a gash on his right forearm that required stitches at Long Island College Hospital, the report says. The four arrests were for obstructing justice and assaulting an officer, the report says.
The New York Post recently reported that District Attorney Ken Thompson plans to stop prosecuting low-level marijuana offenses.
Go stealers
A couple of punks punched a 62-year-old man in the face and stole his phone and $285 in cash inside the Clinton Washington subway station on April 21, the authorities said.
The victim told cops he was coming down the stairs near the intersection of Fulton Street and Washington Avenue at 9:55 pm when two goons in their 20s approached him. One of the louts punched him in the face and took his cash and his phone from his pocket, then both guys ran up to the street, cops said.
Pint-sized phone thief
Cops arrested a 14-year-old on April 26 and charged him with two phone-snatchings that happened within a handful of days of each other.
In the first incident, the suspect and a partner approached a 21-year-old woman as she walked on Willoughby Avenue near Classon Avenue on April 22 at 8 pm, police reported.
The victim said one of the teens asked for the time and, when she took her phone out to check he slapped it out of her hand. The partner grabbed the phone and they both took off running, police said.
Police caught up with the kid when they say he struck again four days later, near the same intersection.
A 20-year-old woman told police she was on the corner of Willoughby and Classon avenues at 8:30 pm on April 26 when the teen ran up and snatched the phone from her hand. Officers were on the scene and arrested him before he could get away, according to a police report. Cops said that the kid implicated himself in both crimes while in custody with his mother present.
Bus-stop shakedown
A group of toughs mugged a 13-year-old while he waited for a bus on Clinton Avenue on April 24, according to the authorities.
The teen reported he was waiting for the bus near Lafayette Avenue at 5:55 pm when three shady characters, who looked to be about 18, came up to him.
“Run your pockets,” one barked at the kid while another flashed a knife, according to a police report.
The teen was freaked out and forked over his phone and wallet, the report says. After he gave over the goods, the fiends took off on Clinton heading towards Greene Avenue, cops said.
Where there’s smoke
Two classy crooks made off with three boxes of cigars from a shop on S. Oxford Street on April 25, police reported.
Workers at the shop, between Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue, said one of the sneak-thieves came in at 4:45 pm while his buddy stood look-out at the door. The playboy inside grabbed boxes of San Lotano, La Glorin, and La Flor Dominicana cigars, and the pair took off, according to a police report.
Inquiring photographer
A lowlife stole a 53-year-old’s camera gear while he was photographing a building on Fort Greene Place on April 24, a report states.
The victim put two bags on the sidewalk between Hanson Place and Lafayette Avenue at 7:30 am so he could take pictures of a building across the street, police said. The bags contained a laptop, a camera, a hard drive, and his wallet, according to a police report.
By the time he finished shooting, the bags were gone, cops said.
Little big haul
A pickpocket swiped $2,500 out of a man’s pocket as he was entering a Myrtle Avenue bank on April 25, according to the authorities.
The unlucky bank-goer said he was heading into the bank between Waverly and Clinton avenues at 3 pm when someone bumped into him, according to a police report.
When he got to the teller, he noticed his cash was gone from the pocket in his hooded sweatshirt, the report states.
CitiBike bust
Cops cuffed a couple of rambunctious teens who they say tried to lift a CitiBike from its dock on Myrtle Avenue on April 26.
The kids managed to pry the bike from its dock near Clinton Avenue at 10:55 am and were heading down Myrtle towards Clermont when they noticed they were being followed, officers said.
Police arrested the pair, a 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, allegedly holding the hot ride. Police value stolen CitiBikes at $1,200, which makes the alleged attempted theft grand larceny.
— Matthew Perlman
