Umbrella assault
An unchivalrous stranger hit a woman in the face with an umbrella after an argument on a Financial District street, police reported.
The victim, 52, told police that she had gotten into a verbal dispute with a man on the corner of Water and Broad Sts. after he accused her of denting his car at about 1 a.m. on Sat., July 13. The woman had broken off the argument and started to walk away when she said the man picked up an umbrella off the street and swung it at her, hitting her in the face and causing a laceration to her left cheek.
Meanwhile, the assailant had already called 911 to report that the woman had done “criminal mischief” to his car. Instead of making his case, he ended up having to flee the scene in his tan vehicle before the cops showed up. He did not answer his phone when the police tried to call him back and is now wanted for assault and related charges.
Stared down armed thug
A Soho woman was lucky to be alive after challenging an armed mugger’s manhood in Soho on Wed., July 3.
Anna Graham, 54, said she was smoking a cigarette in front of her residential building on Grand St. between Wooster and Greene Sts., at about 1:15 a.m. when she was approached by two men. The first man, wearing a black hoodie, pulled out a black firearm with a brown handle and told her to give him her wallet. According to police, she told the robber she didn’t have a wallet and that he “did not have the balls to shoot her.” She said the man then pointed the gun at her chest, while the other man, wearing a black jacket and white baseball cap, said, “shoot, shoot, shoot.” But the gunman did not fire.
The second man went over to two other women, Graham’s friends, who were loading their belongings into a car in preparation for a trip out to Long Island, and he began to take their property out of the vehicle. Police said one of these two women, 49, noticed what was happening and fought with the robber, who kicked her. He then threatened the third woman, 53, and told her to hand over her wallet, police said. She also told them she did not have a wallet and then called 911, causing the muggers to flee north on Greene St.
However, the muggers reportedly did make off with an iPad mini, a Samsung Galaxy cell phone and about $600 in cash taken from the car.
A woman in a do-rag was seen fleeing with the two robbers, according to police, who believe she may have been a lookout.
No injuries were reported.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, while praising Graham’s bravery, said each person must make his or her own decision in such cases.
“It may not have been the smartest thing to do, to say this to someone holding a gun to your head, but you have to admire her gumption and guts,” Kelly said, according to the Daily News.
Graham is married to renowned Russian-born sculptor Ernst Neizvestny.
Broadway burglary
A man was arrested for burglary as he was leaving the premises of a Bath and Body Works office building with stolen property in his suitcase.
Police apprehended Christian Anderson, 49, when he was seen exiting the closed management offices at 503 Broadway at about 4 a.m. on Sun., July 14. There was a brief chase on foot as Anderson tried to flee, but he was caught and cuffed by police, who said that Anderson resisted arrest by “flailing his arms” and refusing to be handcuffed.
Police stated that they found stolen laptops in his possession. The stolen items, five Dell laptops worth a total of $1,281, were in a green suitcase that also belonged to Bath and Body Works. Police said that video surveillance shows him entering and leaving the business after hours.
Delivery Removals
Two delivery drivers lost their personal property when their trucks were targeted by thieves during deliveries.
Last week, a 44-year-old driver reported to police that his property was stolen while making a delivery to a Tribeca McDonald’s. The man said he parked on the southwest corner of Greenwich and Chambers Sts. between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fri., July 12. He said he left his door unlocked while making his Mickey D delivery to 167 Chambers St. and had set his wallet and phone on the side of the seat. When he got back to his truck, his Apple iPhone 4S was gone, as was his wallet, which contained his New York State driver’s license, Social Security card, and debit and credit cards. His shirt was also missing.
The man told police that he later discovered that $120 in charges had been made on the stolen credit cards at various “M.T.A.” locations — perhaps referring to MetroCards or possibly A.T.M. withdrawals.
Another delivery truck was robbed a few blocks away in front of 200 Church St. on Mon., July 1. The driver, 56, told police that he was making a beer delivery at about noon that day. When he got back to the vehicle, he saw that the door was open and his red backpack, containing $270 in cash, was missing. He also lost two credit cards, his ID and registration.
Stylish bag grab
Shoplifters put on a show in a Soho boutique in order to distract from their real goal, a $1,110 handbag.
An employee of Mulberry, a trendy clothing shop at 134 Spring St.. reported that three shoplifters came into the store and put on an impromptu concert for five minutes on Sun., July 14 around 4:30 p.m. One of the shoplifters, a woman around age 35, took a Mulberry women’s handbag in flame orange with a chain handle from the shelf and put it into a bag held by a man, also about 35. The employee said that the third member, a woman who appeared to be about 30 years old, continued to distract the floor personnel.
All three fled eastbound on foot down Spring St., according to police.
— Kaitlyn Meade
