Lounge lift
In another variation of the old steal-the-wallet-at-the-coffee-shop trick, a bandit took a woman’s bag after she left it at the Union Street Tea Lounge on April 9.
The victim had been enjoying a respite in the popular, couch-filled café, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, at around 10 am, but forgot the wallet when she left.
Though she returned just 10 minutes later, the wallet was gone.
Cursed purse
A thug was arrested after attacking a woman on Douglass Street on April 15 — and briefly hiding under a parked car.
The victim was near Fifth Avenue at around midnight when the brute approached her from behind, grabbed her by the neck, and pulled her to the ground. The perp struggled with the victim for a few minutes before managing to snatch her purse.
But this victim wasn’t done yet. She got up and chased the thug, who promptly took the wallet from the purse and dropped the now-unneeded handbag.
But he didn’t get far. Cops soon found him under the car and he was collared.
Big Apple
A burglar bashed into a Fourth Avenue apartment on April 17, taking an Apple laptop with him.
The victim left her apartment, between Bergen Street and St Marks Place, at around noon. When she returned four hours later, she noticed that somebody had broken through her door and that her computer was gone.
Jewel fool
A thief nicked at least 21 pieces of valuable jewelry and a camera from a Pacific Street apartment on April 17.
The victim and her boyfriend left the apartment, between Fourth and Flatbush avenues, at around 8:45 am. The first floor, which was under construction, provided easy access for the crook, who slipped in and took $7,000-$10,000 worth of jewels.
The couple noticed the theft when it returned more than 15 hours later.
Mobile miseries
At least four cars were stolen or broken into last week. Here’s a roundup:
• A thief nabbed a 2003 Audi from Nevins Street between April 15 and 17. The victim left his car — equipped with $2,800 in stereo equipment and rims — between Carroll and Union streets at 11:30 pm. He returned just over a day later to find his car missing.
• A 2002 Volkswagen Jetta was stolen from a spot on Second Street on April 18. The car, which was between Fifth and Sixth avenues, had a Nokia phone and a $200 Armani jacket inside. The victim left her car at around 9 pm and came back two hours later to an empty parking space.
• A thug stole $2,310 worth of stuff from a van in the Lowe’s parking lot on April 13. The victim had been shopping in the grocery store, which is on Second Avenue between 14th and 15th streets, at around 11:20 am. When he returned to the van just 90 minutes later, the stuff was gone.
• A crook bashed through the window of a 1999 Honda Odyssey parked on Sixth Street to get to a woman’s purse on April 15. The victim left her car between Sixth and Seventh avenues at around 5 pm, with her purse locked inside. When she came back an hour later, her purse — containing $45 — was gone.
— Emilia Brock
