Beaten into a coma
Police responded to a 4:15 a.m. call on Sat., March 20 of a man being assaulted by unknown suspects in front of 159 Essex St., just south of Houston St. They found a 30-year-old man on the sidewalk unconscious and with severe head injuries. The victim, who was not further identified, was taken to Bellevue in critical condition and was reported on Tuesday to be in a coma. Neighbors said detectives from the Seventh Precinct squad investigating the case had indicated that prior to the attack, the victim had been a patron of Element, 225 E. Houston St., a former bank building and now a three-story nightlife venue.
Subway sex abuse
Police arrested Eric Hood, 34, on Tues., March 16 and charged him with sexually molesting two girls under 17 in subway trains on Jan. 8. Police said Hood grabbed a victim’s buttocks and rubbed against her at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 8 on an M train approaching Chambers St. The suspect is also accused of sexually touching another girl 15 minutes later on a No. 6 train north of Grand Central. On Jan. 19 at 8 a.m. a plainclothes police officer was about to arrest Hood in the Brooklyn Bridge station but the suspect fled to the south end of the platform where he pushed a man who fell on the tracks, and made his escape, police said. Hood, a Brooklyn resident, is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail pending an April 19 court appearance on charges of forcible touching, sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child and first degree reckless endangerment.
Tribute Center theft
Emmanuel Reyes, 25, manager of the Tribute WTC Visitor Center at 120 Liberty St. was charged on March 15 with stealing a total of $40,500 from Tribute, a 9/11 museum, tour and education center.
The theft, which occured between August and February, was discovered when Jennifer Adams, co-founder of the center, conducted an audit, according to the complaint filed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. Adams isolated the dates when the losses occurred to the dates when the suspect was working, according to the charges. Adams told investigators that she observed Reyes on video tape at the cash register at the times corresponding to every negative transaction on the dates where a loss was reported.
Reyes admitted to a Special Fraud Squad detective that he took the money and altered business records, according to the complaint.
Car break-in
A Staten Island man parked his car in front of 45 King St. at 11:30 p.m. Tues., March 9 and returned two hours later to find the rear left window broken. His Mac book and two traveling bags belonging to a friend visiting from Toronto were gone. The total value of the loss was $4,100.
Thong thieves
The manager of Victoria’s Secret, 591 Broadway between Prince and Houston Sts. told police that a group of two men and three women entered the place at 5:20 p.m. Mon., March 15, distracted the security guard, and managed to take 96 panty thongs from a shelf, hid them in a big yellow bag and walked out without paying. The total value lost was $4,680, the store reported.
Vuitton shoplifters
Two men entered the Louis Vuitton shop at 116 Greene St. around 6:40 p.m. Tues., March 9 and while one distracted the security guard, the other stashed two Suhali shoulder bags and five Malhiva slim envelop wallets into a large paper bag and walked out without paying. The shoulder bags were selling for $3,300 each and the slim envelopes were selling for $900 each, the store reported.
Nearly cleaned out
The manager of the Michael Kors boutique at101 Prince St. was searching the handbag of the store cleaning woman as she was leaving at 11:10 a.m. Mon., March 15 and found 26 watches taken from the store, police said. The manager managed to take back 20 watches but the suspect was able to flee with six of them, with a total value of $2,119, police said. Police did not release any other information about the suspect.
Ransacked apartment
The resident of an apartment at 98 Charlton told police on March 14 that he left his house and returned a few hours later to find the place ransacked. Missing was a MacBook laptop and an iPod, with a total value of $3,800. Neighbors told police they heard no unusual noise.
— Albert Amateau
