W.T.C. mugging
Five suspects attacked and robbed a man who was walking on Vesey between West and Greenwich Sts. at about 8:30 p.m. Fri. March 9, police said. The victim, 19, a Bronx resident, took a punch in the face and lost $50 in cash to the robbers. Port Authority police searched the area but there were no arrests.
Students arrested
Students for a Democratic Society from Pace University in Lower Manhattan and The New School in the Village staged an anti-war protest Mon. March 12 at Pace and at the Army Navy Recruiting Center on Chambers St. Chanting slogans and waving posters, a group of 24 students entered the recruiting center to conduct a sit-in. Four obeyed police and left voluntarily but 20 sat until they were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.
Detective busted
John Rankin, an N.Y.P.D. detective assigned to the Manhattan North warrant squad, was arrested Mon. March 12 for leaving the scene of an auto accident in the Fifth Precinct, which covers part of the Lower East Side, Chinatown and Police Plaza. The accident involved property damage but no personal injuries. Police did not say where in the precinct the accident occurred.
Gateway assault
A Gateway Plaza resident reported that a group of teenagers on bicycles were harassing Gateway residents on Saturday evening March 10 and beat one man after he told them they didn’t belong on the walkway behind 400 Gateway plaza.
The beating victim was walking his dog at about 8 p.m. when he remonstrated a the group, which followed him inside the gated area behind the 400 building and hit him several times, according to a resident who told Downtown Express about the incident. Earlier that evening, Battery Park City Park Enforcement Patrol officers reportedly told the bicycle group to leave the park after residents complained they were threatening to run down pedestrians.
Police at the First Precinct did not confirm the incident.
Phone gone
A 39-year-old woman told police that her cell phone, valued at $200, was lifted from her bag while she was walking on Wooster St. between Spring and Prince Sts. at about 5:30 p.m. Wed. March 7.
Gold chain
A thief dipped into an unlocked glass display case at a jewelry shop on Mercer between Broome and Grand Sts. at about 4:30 p.m. Sun., March 11 and fled with a heavy gold chain valued at $3,600, police said. The shop’s surveillance camera was not turned on at the time but an employee described the thief as a black man, 5’9” weighing about 165 lbs.
Wallet stolen
A patron at Remix Lounge, 24 Murray St., told police last week that her wallet was lifted from her bag while she was in the lounge during the early hours of Mon. Feb. 26. The victim, 24, a Brooklyn resident, lost $100 in cash and discovered that $120 in unauthorized charges had been made on her credit card before it was cancelled.
—Albert Amateau
