Police nabbed a gang of five teens — ages 14 to 16 — who allegedly tried to rob a deliveryman of his money, food and bicycle on May 11.
The posse tracked the 34-year-old victim from the restaurant where he works to the delivery site, on Clinton Avenue, between Greene and Gates avenues, at around 7 pm. That’s when the teens rushed the man and insisted he turn over his earnings and the means to his livelihood.
Instead, the deliveryman ran inside the home and dialed 911. Police Officer Edgar Gonzalez arrived with a crew that rounded up the teenagers. The five boys — two age 14, two 15-year-olds and one who is 16 — now face robbery charges.
Gun heist
Just the sight of the thief’s pistol made his point clear.
The robber never had to draw his gun when he attacked a man on Ashland Place on May 8, police said.
The 24-year-old was walking towards Fulton Street and reached the corner of Willoughby Street just before 9 pm, when he was approached by a stranger. The man offered him a glimpse at the butt of a gun he had concealed in his sweatshirt, and insisted, “What do you have in your pockets?”
The victim got the full picture loud and clear and handed over a silver iPod and a Verizon cellphone. He then turned and ran off, before the thief could use the weapon.
Cell swipe
Police arrested two teens after they allegedly stole a cellphone from a man walking along Dekalb Avenue on May 12.
The 32-year-old victim was chatting on his mobile when he was attacked, just before 7 pm, near the corner of Fort Greene Place. The two thieves rushed toward him and grabbed the phone so violently that they knocked the victim’s eyeglasses from his face.
Police Officer Rafael Santana of the 88th Precinct tracked the two suspects and arrested the two 15-year-olds the same day. He did not find the stolen cellphone on the teens.
Gunshots
Pre-dawn gunfire rang out in Fort Greene on at least two occasions recently, including one shooting that police sources said was sparked by a dispute over a food order at a Fulton Street diner.
The first incident, on May 12, happened just two blocks from Fort Greene Park. The 36-year-old victim was struck by two bullets as he walked into a Myrtle Avenue store, near Carlton Avenue, just before 3 am. One shot lodged in his right arm and the other grazed his back.
The victim said the shots seemed to come from across the street.
Two days later, police were called to a gunfight outside a diner on Fulton Street, near Clinton Avenue, around 4:30 am. A 42-year-old cook at the restaurant said an argument over a food order started inside and then spilled onto the sidewalk, where someone pulled a gun and fired.
Although police couldn’t find anyone hurt at the scene, a 29-year-old man was located later that morning at the emergency room of Interfaith Hospital, on Atlantic Avenue near Nostrand Avenue. The man, who was shot once in the stomach and once in the right shoulder, later admitted he was part of the diner squabble.