Wild river chase
Police responded to a “robbery in progress” alert at 5:30 p.m. Fri., May 22 in the Smith Houses on Catherine Slip and Cherry St. and were told that three men armed with guns had tried to rob a victim in an elevator. On the fourth floor of the building, a woman told police that one of three men who tried to enter her apartment fired a shot that went into the door. Three men were then seen fleeing the complex in different directions and police gave chase. One of the suspects headed to the East River and jumped in. Police scuba divers pulled him from the water, and the victim was taken to Bellevue for water exposure. The incident was still under investigation at press time on May 26 and police declined to release the name of the suspect. Three officers were injured when two patrol cars crashed at the scene, according to reports. A .25 caliber handgun was found in a trash bin in the housing complex, police said.
Pistol assault
Two Pace University students were awaken by a knock on the door of their apartment on the fourth floor of 33 Gold St. between Fulton and John Sts. early in the morning of Thurs., May 7, police said. When one of them opened the door, three men pushed in, one of them wielding a silver handgun. The two victims, one from Connecticut, the other from California and both 19, were pistol-whipped, police said. The robbers then ordered the victims to be silent, pushed them against a wall and bound them with tape. The robbers fled with a laptop, a PlayStation 3 and a cell phone, police said.
Restaurant hold-up
Three men wearing masks entered Ristorante Barolo, 398 W. Broadway, through the back door at 2 a.m. Mon., May 11 and held three employees at gunpoint, police said. The robbers bound the employees with tape and threw them to the floor. “Where is the money?” one of them demanded. The masked men then broke into the safe, took an undisclosed sum of money and fled, police said.
Canal St. slashing
Police arrested Khoi Duong, 28, on Friday afternoon May 22 for slashing a man who was grocery shopping at 225 Canal St. at Baxter St. The suspect, a Bronx resident, was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He was released on his own recognizance pending a Sept. 3 court appearance.
Cell phone punch
A Brooklyn man, 27, was walking east on Spring St. near Mercer St. talking on his cell phone on Thursday afternoon May 7 when someone punched him on the back of his head, grabbed his cell phone and ran, police said. The victim chased the thief down Spring St., caught him and got his cell phone back. Police arrested the suspect, a 15-year-old male whose name was withheld because of his age.
Gang assault
A resident of Independence Plaza North told police that eight or more young men attacked him around 4:35 a.m. Sun., May 10 as he was getting out of a cab in front of 80 N. Moore St. The victim was unable to describe his attackers, police said.
Maiden La. mugging
A woman who was walking to her Financial District home from the Broadway-Nassau subway station at 12:55 a.m. Wed., May 20 was stopped opposite Papa John’s Pizza, 21 Maiden La., by a man who grabbed her handbag, police said. The victim held onto the bag and was thrown to the ground in the struggle. The mugger, described as a black man, 5’9” weighing 180 pounds and wearing a dark skull cap and a sweatshirt jacket, opened the bag, took out a digital camera valued at more than $300, then dropped the bag and fled on foot, police said.
Assault outside bar
An argument that began in the Hook & Ladder bar on John St. at 1:30 a.m. Fri., May 22 turned violent when a bouncer ejected the two parties, police said. An undetermined number of men who were arguing with the victim and his brother inside the bar assaulted the victim outside the place, according to police.
Burglar flees
A resident of 150 Sullivan St. between Prince and W. Houston Sts. woke up at 5:30 a.m. Wed., May 20, went into her living room and saw an intruder who ran out of the apartment and fled north on Sullivan St., police said.
Break-in attempt
A resident of a fifth floor apartment at 315 Greenwich St. at Reade St. was a couple of blocks from home when she was buzzed by her home security service that her burglar alarm was sounding. She arrived home in five minutes and discovered that a screen on a window at roof level had been cut in three places setting off the alarm. There was no entry, police said.
Cell snatch
A man walking on Sixth Ave. and Charlton St. shortly before 8 p.m., Thurs., May 21 was stopped by a stranger who asked what time it was. When the man pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to check on the time, the stranger grabbed the phone and ran, police said. The victim made the initial complaint but refused later to talk to First Precinct detectives, according to police reports.
Bad check
An employee of the Chanel boutique at 139 Spring St. told police that a well-dressed tall dark man tried to buy $3,000 worth of merchandize at 3:10 p.m. Thurs., May 14 with what she deemed to be a fraudulent check, police said. The employee told police that the suspect came back later to look around but did not try to buy anything.
Shoplifters
An employee of the Polo Ralph Lauren boutique at 381 W. Broadway between Broome and Spring Sts. told police that a man he described only as white took 14 shirts from a shelf in the shop around 4:20 p.m. Tues., May 19, put them in a red shopping bag and left the store without paying the $1,372 total price for them. An employee of the Lucky Jean boutique at 38 Greene St. said that a woman described as white, about 30 and 5’5” took 50 shirts and tank tops from the shelves and made off without paying for them.
Expensive smokes
A New Jersey woman, 21, told police she left her bag on her table at Starbucks, 233 Broadway at Barclay St., for five minutes while she went out with a friend for a smoke and returned to find the bag gone with her radio, iPod, digital camera and $60 in cash.
— Albert Amateau
