Cops were called to the Nostrand Quick Stop on Nostrand Avenue near Kings Highway Sunday after an unruly customer allegedly went berserk and started tearing the late-night business apart, police alleged.
Officials said that the store-wrecker, who prosecutors identified as 20-year-old Matthew Drysdale, allegedly entered the store just before 3 a.m. on August 23 and started arguing with the employee.
Harsh words turned to even harsher actions as Drysdale allegedly attacked the employee, striking him in the head, police said.
He then decided to spice things up by allegedly throwing a jar of salsa at the store employee, which shattered against the wall.
Prosecutors allege that Drysdale had destroyed a number of items, including a display of cakes, before pulling a knife on his victim.
“I am going to show you something,” he allegedly said as he waved the knife around. “Come outside and fight.”
The victim didn’t take Drysdale up on his offer and instead called police, who charged the 20-year-old with assault in the third degree, menacing, criminal mischief, criminal possession of a weapon, attempted assault and harassment.
Quick strip
A car thief was arrested in Flatlands last week after he and two accomplices tried to abandon the husk of a 2002 Acura they had allegedly stolen from Flatbush and stripped just twelve hours before, police said.
Officials believe that Dennis Cortez, 20, and his crew allegedly swiped the vehicle from East 29th Street near Farragut Road sometime after 7:10 a.m. on August 21.
Just after 8 p.m. that evening, cops from the 63rd Precinct were on patrol when they saw Cortez and two men allegedly exit the same Acura on East 35th Street near Avenue J %u2013 although the vehicle was apparently not in the same condition.
Police said that several parts were missing from the vehicle including the back lights, the front lights, the bumper and front plates.
Upon further inspection, the inside lining of both doors had also been removed as well, officials said.
Cortez, who reportedly had a wrench in his pocket, was taken into custody and charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, possession of burglar’s tools, unauthorized use of a vehicle and auto stripping.
Police said that one of his accomplices was apprehended a short time later, but the man’s name had not been released as this paper went to press.
The third suspect was still at large.
Blades and bad words
A 53-year-old man was arrested last week after he threatened a woman with a knife during a blow-up in Mill Basin.
Police said that the suspect, who was not named, was arguing with his victim at an apartment on Fillmore Avenue near East 56th Street at 11:20 p.m. on August 18 when he allegedly picked up a knife and pointed it at her.
He then said that he was going to kill the woman and chop up her body, officials said.
The startled woman called police, who took the 53-year-old into custody, charging him with menacing, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon.
Grocery goon
A skirmish in a Flatbush Avenue market near the Flatbush/Midwood Junction ended with a storekeeper pulling a knife on a customer, cops from the 70th Precinct said this week.
Saad Yafai, a 25-year-old employee at Yafai Deli and Grocery at 1501 Flatbush Avenue, was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon after he allegedly ran towards a customer with a knife in his hands during an argument inside the store at 7 p.m. on August 23.
The customer called police, who took Yafai into custody without incident.
No injuries were reported.
Services not rendered
An 80-year-old area man was swindled out of $1,250 from a shady “contractor” who convinced him to get needed repairs, got paid in advance and then promptly disappeared.
The senior said that the contractor, who claimed that he was a member of All Star Home Services, called the victim at his house on Avenue P back in June and said that he needed “emergency repairs” to his home.
The victim believed the contractor’s claims and not only agreed to pay him before any work was done, but also agreed to leave the house and shut off the gas so the so-called “work” could be completed faster.
He was away for his home for some time before he realized that he had been hoodwinked.
Cops were alerted to the scam on August 20, officials said.
Unwanted visitors
Cops are hot on the heels of the two thugs who attacked a senior citizen after breaking into an East 5th Street home.
Police were told that two Hispanic males entered the home, located near Kings Highway, at about 11:40 p.m. on August 6 by forcing open a back window on the second floor.
The break-in did not go unnoticed, however.
A 66-year-old victim woke up and went to investigate, only to be confronted by the two strangers.
The suspects reportedly threw the victim to the ground and punched him before running off.
It was unclear if anything had been taken as this paper went to press.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential.
Beaten and robbed
A 28-year-old man was beaten and robbed as he made his way to work, officials said.
Police were told that the victim was nearing the corner of East 22nd Street and Quentin Road at 5:30 p.m. on August 12 when two unidentified males grabbed him from behind.
The suspects knocked the glasses off the victim’s head and punched the man in the face repeatedly before running off with $25 and his credit cards, cell phones and MP3 player.
Tire troubles
A vandal expressed his outrage at a local car service by flattening the tires to two cars parked outside the home base, officials were told.
Employees said that someone had flattened three tires to a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria and all four tires to a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria found parked on McDonald Avenue near Quentin Road sometime after midnight on August 15. The side-view windows to the two vehicles were also smashed, officials said.
