77th Precinct
Prospect Heights
Tough times
A gun-wielding thug with a sympathy rap stole thousands of bucks from a cellphone shop on Washington Avenue on Aug. 29.
A worker at MetroPCS near Lincoln Place told cops that a man wearing a gray jacket strolled into the store at 5 pm and pulled out a silver gun.
“Times are hard,” he said, ordering the worker to open the register. “Gimme the money; I need it more than you.”
The clerk filled a black plastic garbage bag with $3,700, and the crook it and fled.
Bad game
A thief snatched a backpack from a man on Classon Avenue on Aug. 24.
The 21-year-old victim told cops that he set his bag on a park bench near Sterling Place at around 5 pm then went to shoot some hoops. He came back an hour later and discovered that his backpack — and the cellphone inside — gone.
Tobacco taker
A jerk swiped some cigarettes from a car on St. Johns Place on Aug. 24.
The 47-year-old victim told cops that he parked near Washington Avenue at 4 pm then came back a couple hours later. That was enough time for the thief to snatch $840 worth of cigarette cartons.
Knife no-no
A thug pulled a knife on a man on Flatbush Avenue on Aug. 22.
The 46-year-old victim told cops he was hanging out on the sidewalk near Sterling Place at 9:05 pm, when a stranger flashed a folding knife, then ran away.
Pacific break-in
A crook jacked two laptops and a bike from an apartment on Pacific Street on Aug. 25.
The 30-year-old victim told cops that she locked her apartment near Grand Avenue at around 5:30 pm. She came back four hours later and discovered the window above her fire escape ajar — along with two $1,200 Mac laptops and a $400 Trek mountain bike gone.
— Natalie O’Neill
