Payless pinch
A gunman held up an Avenue U Payless shoe store on March 13 during a daring evening raid.
Workers at the store, which is between E. 16th and E. 17th streets, told police that the thief surprised a female employee as she brought out the trash at 5 pm.
The thief forced the employee inside, then ordered a manager to open the safe, which he looted.
Counter-feat
A crook bought an iPad for a steal on March 8 when he used four counterfeit $100 bills during a transaction at the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Quentin Road.
The 34-year-old victim told police that he sold his iPad to the stranger, whom he met online, for $500 that afternoon.
A short time later, he realized that he’d been had: four of the five $100 bills he was handed were fake.
And he didn’t have a chance to pass the buck, so to speak. His bank on Ralph Avenue in Mill Basin confiscated the funny money when he went to confirm that they were indeed fake.
Robbed of iPod
A trio of teenage girls bum-rushed an 18-year-old on Nostrand Avenue on March 10, taking the young woman’s iPod.
The three girls were all arrested shortly after the 8:10 am attack that happened near Quentin Road.
Swipe and smash
A thief swiped a 1997 Mitsubishi parked on Gravesend Neck Road on March 12 — only to smash the stolen car up on Kings Highway.
Cops arrested the 26-year-old thief following the accident, which happened between E. 17th and E. 18th streets, at 9:37 pm. It had been stolen two hours before, the owner of the car told police.
Liquored-up Pilot
A 36-year-old man was arrested on drunk driving charges on March 13 following a motor vehicle accident on Avenue P.
Police said that the drunk driver was behind the wheel of a 2009 Honda Pilot at 4:40 am when he slammed into the rear of the other car waiting at a stoplight near E. 12th Street.
Left on blocks
Thieves converged on a 2010 Honda parked on E. 23rd Street on March 10, taking two pricey tires.
The owner of the car told police that he left the vehicle parked between Avenues S and T. When he returned to the car two days later, it was on blocks.
More wheel whisks
A thief snagged $2,000 worth of tires and rims from a 2010 Infiniti parked on E. Seventh Street on March 11.
The tires were taken sometime after 3 am as the luxury vehicle sat near Avenue R.
Maimed at McDonald’s
Talk about an un-Happy Meal: A gunman opened fire at a 20-year-old at a Coney Island Avenue McDonald’s on March 6, hitting his victim in the groin.
Witnesses told police that the victim was sitting inside a car parked at the McDonald’s parking lot on Avenue U at 1 am when the gunman riddled several cars — including the victim’s — with bullets.
The victim was rushed to an area hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
The gunman sped off, leaving several damaged cars in his wake, witnesses told police.
Car bully
A thug attacked a car parked on E. 19th Street on March 3 — while the owner of the car was inside!
The 57-year-old victim was sitting inside the car, which was parked between Avenue S and T, at 7:30 pm when the unidentified man ran up and smashed the driver’s side window.
