Counterfeit bag arrests in Chinatown
On Friday afternoon at 2:45 p.m., three police officers from the Fifth Precinct in a white unmarked van stopped in front of 218 Centre St., just south of Grand St. They did not enter the retail health food store at ground level but rather descended a flight of stairs to a metal basement door and entered. Several minutes later two young ladies came up the stairs giggling and carrying bags of merchandise. They declined to be identified but said the police were placing the workers in the store under arrest for selling counterfeit handbags. The young ladies, who appeared to be tourists, said the police told them to leave. Just before 3 p.m. the officers led one man and woman up the steps in handcuffs and into the unmarked van. A police spokesperson said only the female suspect, 33-year-old Xue Wu, had been charged with trademark counterfeiting for selling imitation Coach brand wallets.
Canal pedestrian killed
A Queens resident, Jairo Fajardo, 61, was charged with leaving the scene of an auto accident that resulted in a death on Canal St. just east of Greene St. during the early hours of Fri. Sept. 14, police said. The victim, an unidentified man of about 30, was found on Canal St. and pronounced dead at 1:48 a.m., police said.
The suspect was driving a 2006 red Chevrolet pickup truck east on Canal St. when he collided with the pedestrian and drove on, police said. He was arrested later that day at his home in Sunnyside.
Robbery attempt
A man burst into the Dunkin’ Donuts at 100 Chambers St. at 6:45 p.m. Sun., Sept. 16, put a knife to one employee and forced her to a rear office. Then he shoved a second employee’s face into the sink and demanded that the safe be opened, police said. The robber fled when the employee told him the safe could not be opened.
Subway arrest
Two transit police officers in the Fulton St. subway station spotted a crazed man trying to shove two riders onto the tracks on the northbound platform at 4:45 a.m. Sat., Sept. 15, police said. When the officers said they were police and began to restrain the suspect, Anthony Powell, 20, of the Bronx, screamed and threatened them, according to police. The officers subdued Powell and charged him with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He was being held in lieu of $2,000 bail pending a Sept. 21 court appearance.
Chain snatch
A man, 25, was walking in front of 50 Broadway at 1:30 p.m. Fri., Sept. 14 when a stranger holding a razor blade between his teeth approached him, snatched a gold chain from his neck and hurried away, police said. Police in a passing patrol car arrested the suspect, Garfield Burchette, 40, and charged him with robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.
Soho burglary
A burglar entered a clothing boutique at 51 Wooster St. by removing the front door lock cylinder during the early hours of Sat., Sept. 8 and took $40 from the cash register and a laptop valued at $2,500, police said.
Arrest in L.E.S. robbery
Police arrested Rodney Munnerlyn, 33, of Brooklyn on Mon., Sept. 10 and charged him with the Aug. 17 pistol-whipping and robbery of a man, 65, on Orchard St. between Canal and Hester Sts. The defendant is charged with holding the victim at gunpoint at 12:45 p.m. in front of 30 Orchard St., taking $600 from him and hitting him over the head with the gun. Munnerlyn is in jail in lieu of $60,000 bail pending an Oct. 19 Supreme Court arraignment.
Hudson Sq. muggers
Two strangers stopped a Brooklyn man, 23, walking on Vandam St. at Varick St. at 4 a.m. Fri., Sept. 14. One asked for a cigarette, the other snatched the cell phone hanging from the victim’s right hip, and the two fled south on Varick, police said.
Rolex swipe
A man walked into William Barthman Jewelers at 176 Broadway at 1:30 p.m. Wed., Sept. 12, asked to see a Rolex watch and when the salesman brought it out, snatched it and fled, police said.
ID shopper
A visitor, 17, from Port Washington, L.I., was shopping on Canal St. near Church St. on Friday afternoon Sept. 14 when a stranger asked him if he wanted to buy a fake ID, police said. The visitor told police that he said “No,” but acknowledged that his wallet was out and the stranger took $80 from him. The visitor said he followed the stranger to the AT&T Long Lines Building on Sixth Ave. at Lispenard St. but lost him in the lobby. A subway entrance is located in the lobby.
Truck robbed
outside H.P.D.
The driver of a truck making collections and deliveries to vending machines parked his truck in front of the city Housing Preservation and Development office at 100 Gold St. on Thursday morning Sept. 13 and returned at 11 a.m. to find that a thief had forced down a partially open front window, opened the door from the inside and stole $3,500 in cash from a compartment, police said.
Arson suspect
Police are seeking a man suspected of setting fire to the door of his family’s apartment at 189 Allen St. at 3:50 p.m. Sat., Sept. 15. Mark Jones, 20, is suspected of using rubbing alcohol as an accelerant and setting the door on fire after his mother refused his demand that two men he had brought home be allowed to stay. Jones fled and firefighters extinguished the fire. There were no injuries.
F.D.N.Y. charge on 9/11
Police charged Sean Owen, 30, an off-duty firefighter, with misdemeanor assault shortly after 11 p.m. Tues., Sept. 11 in connection with an argument with a cabdriver who refused to pick him up at the corner of Broadway and Pine St.
Burglar tools
A burglar entered a building at 361 Broadway at Franklin St. sometime between 11 p.m. Wed., Sept. 5 and 7:30 a.m. the following morning, forced open two interior doors and stole miscellaneous power tools, police said.
Studio break-in
An employee came to work at 7 a. m. Sat., Sept. 8 to a ground floor studio at 92 Greene St. in Soho, found the front door had been broken into, and a video camera and several lighting fixtures had been stolen, police said.
Bag lifted
A patron of Remy Lounge, 124 Greenwich St. near Albany St., got suddenly ill at 3:50 a.m. Sat., Sept. 1, ran to the women’s washroom and returned a short time later to find her bag with a digital camera, MP3 player, $140 in cash and various credit cards gone.
— Albert Amateau
