Knife guy
A thug pulled a knife and stole cash from a Fifth Avenue smoke shop on Nov. 3.
The manager of D.B. Smoke Shop, at St. Marks Place, told cops that a man entered the shop at around 2:50 pm, pulled a knife and demanded to be allowed behind the counter.
Surveillance footage shows the 46-year-old worker bravely trying to beat off the thug with a garbage can, but the thug swatted him away, leaving him with minor cuts and bruises, before the thief grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash from the register.
He fled into an awaiting green Ford with New York plate DZB-7064.
Wonton crime
A thief swiped the purse of an employee at a Seventh Avenue Chinese restaurant on Oct. 31.
The worker at Mr. Wonton told cops that she had put her bag behind the counter of the restaurant, which is at Berkeley Place, at around 7:30 pm, but noticed hours later that the bag was no longer there.
The thief got $1,500 and various cards.
Hotel no tell
A burglar broke into a Third Avenue hotel overnight on Nov. 1, taking 26 flat-screen TVs — though cops are suspicious that a crime had occurred.
According to the owner of the lodge, which is at 13th Street, the thief entered through a window sometime after 6 pm to take more than a score of televisions.
The theft was discovered the next morning. But a police source questioned how the crime could possibly have gone down in the manner described.
“It looks like an inside job,” the source said. “Someone turned a blind eye.”
Police have questioned the security guards who were on the overnight shift.
Honda haul
A new Honda was stolen from Fifth Street overnight on Oct. 31.
The owner of the 2011 Pilot said he parked the vehicle between Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West at around 4:30 pm, but it was gone when he returned to it two days later.
Cops in the 78th Precinct are very accustomed to seeing 15- to 20-year old Honda Civics disappear, as those cars are highly sought after for parts.
— Gersh Kuntzman
