Shovel attack
Cops are looking for the thug who mugged two people on Avenue R while armed with a snow shovel.
Police said that the thief approached a 46-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man near East 21st Street just before 10:30 p.m. on February 15.
He reportedly struck the woman in the back of the head with the shovel and then punched the senior, sending him to the ground.
“Money,” the man demanded before running off with the woman’s purse, which contained $400, and the $200 he swiped from the senior.
Cops are asking 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.
Senior mugged
An 84-year-old woman was robbed of her handbag as she walked through Homecrest.
Cops from the 61st Precinct said that the senior was on Homecrest Avenue near Avenue U at 10:30 a.m. on February 17 when an unidentified black male ran up and shoved her.
As the senior scrambled to regain her balance, the thief yanked her handbag from her shoulder and ran off with it.
No serious injuries were reported.
Plaza pugilist busted
Shopping with a chip on your shoulder never works.
A 43-year-old man learned that the hard way last week when he allegedly wigged out and punched someone during a confrontation inside the Kings Plaza Mall.
Cops from them 63rd Precinct were called to the Flatbush Avenue mall at 8:30 p.m. on February 20 after suspect Steve Joseph allegedly punched another man in the face, leaving him with a cut above his eye. Witnesses told police the two men were arguing inside a mall department store when Joseph allegedly flew into a rage and began throwing over display tables.
Responding officers corralled Joseph, but the plucky shopper reportedly pushed the officer away so he could punch his victim again.
Cops finally took Joseph into custody, charging him with assault, resisting arrest and menacing.
It was unclear what sparked the argument as this paper went to press.
Bully bust
Members of the Flatbush Shomrim patrol helped police nab three teens who allegedly beat and robbed a 12-year-old boy in Midwood last week.
Volunteers were on patrol at 8:30 p.m. on February 17 when they spotted the three teens allegedly jumping the boy near the corner of Quentin Road and East 28th Street.
The boy was on his way to a nearby synagogue at the time.
A volunteer called police, who rounded up the three suspects, identified as 18-year-old Jonathan Morales, 18-year-old Joe Rossi and 16-year-old Justin Morales, and took them into custody without incident, charging them with robbery.
Have shovel, will swipe
The days where a neighborhood kid shoveled your front walk for free are long gone.
Case in point: A 76-year-old woman had her computer swiped from her home by a man who just moments before offered to clear the snow off her sidewalk.
The senior said that the man came to her home at 10:30 a.m. on February 26 and made his offer, which the victim quickly agreed to.
She left the man to his work and took a shower, but when she went back downstairs, she discovered that someone had unlocked her side door.
Her computer was gone, along with the man with the shovel.
It was unclear if he was at least kind enough to complete his task before taking his pricey shoveling fee.
Love note looting
Workers at Nadia’s Cards & Gifts, 3042 Avenue U, opened for business the day after Valentine’s Day only to find out that a criminal Cupid had tunneled his way inside.
Police were told that $200 in receipts and $550 in cigarettes were removed from the store, located near Coyle Street, the night before after the thief had cut a hole in the ceiling rappelled inside.
Cops were still looking for the thief as this paper went to press.
Arrest in Ralph burglary
Someone broke into a garage adjacent to a Ralph Avenue home last week, taking a computer monitor and keyboard.
Cops from the 63rd Precinct said that the owner of the home near Avenue L returned at 11 a.m. on February 18 to find a man running out of the garage.
When he went to investigate, he discovered that this stranger had broken the lock to the garage door.
The computer equipment was the only thing missing, he told responding officers, who apprehended 40-year-old Michael Pipitone in connection with the crime after a brief search of the area.
Pipitone was charged with burglary in the third degree, criminal mischief and petit larceny.
Blade boy bust
Cops may have closed the book on an open robbery pattern with the arrest of an 18-year-old area resident.
Prosecutors said that Dady Michel was charged with robbery in the first degree, grand larceny, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property last week in connection with a mugging on January 26.
The robbery was one of three knife-point heists that took place near the corner of Flatlands and Utica avenues at the end of January.
A spokesperson for the Kings County District Attorney’s office said that Michel and Kareem Jones allegedly grabbed a 13-year-old boy at 9 p.m. on January 26, pulled a knife on him then fished through his pockets, pulling out his iPhone.
Jones was apprehended for the robbery before Michel, said prosecutors.
As this paper went to press, the two men hadn’t been arrested in connection with the two other robberies in the same area.
Police said that thieves, described only as black males, pulled a knife on a 20-year-old on Utica Avenue and Avenue K at 8:45 p.m. on January 22, robbing him of $73 in cash, some jewelry and his cell phone.
Fifteen minutes later, the thieves re-appeared, robbing a 28-year-old at knifepoint near the corner of Flatlands Avenue and East 49th Street, this time taking $90.
It’s believed that they laid low for a few days before pulling a knife on the 13-year-old on January 26.
No injuries had been reported in any of these crimes, officials said.
Drunk and directionless
Eyebrows were raised in Flatlands this past Valentine’s Day when a Chevy Suburban was seen charging down Avenue L in the wrong direction.
Cops said that they pulled over the Suburban near East 49th Street at 4 a.m. on February 14 only to learn that the driver was allegedly drunk.
The motorist, identified as 25-year-old Javell Williams, was arrested for allegedly operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol after cops determined that he had a blood alcohol content of .101 percent.
This was not the first time that Williams was arrested for drunk driving, police noted. He was arrested for the same charge back in 2004, when he was 20.
Help wipe out graffiti
As the ongoing war against graffiti vandalism continues, cops are now offering a $500 reward to anyone with information that can help them arrest neighborhood graffiti vandals.
The hefty reward is part of the city’s ongoing push to rid New York of graffiti; the leading quality of life complaint brought to police.
Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism in their neighborhood is urged to contact either 311 or 911.
