Robbed in subway A man who was sitting next to a 16-year-old Brooklyn girl on a train as it approached the station at Broadway and Fulton St. around 10 a.m. Mon., May 24, snatched her iPod from her hand and then pointed a gun at her and said, “Shut up, be quiet, give me the bag,” police reported. The gunman then took her $350 bag with $21 in cash and fled from the train when it stopped at the station. The thief was described as a short, heavyset black man, with a beard, close cut hair, wearing blue jeans, a red jacket and a blue baseball cap.
Attempted robbery arrest A suspect stood over a 20-year-old Brooklyn man sitting on a south bound A train at Fulton St. around 2:20 a.m. Sun., May 23, and said, “You know what I’m gonna do? Take that iPod,” police said. The victim got up and went to another car with the suspect following him and saying, “These people ain’t gonna stick up for you. I’m gonna do some crazy shit.” The victim got off the train at Jay St. in Brooklyn and informed police who arrested Maurice Echols, 21, and charged him with attempted robbery.
Downtown buzz Police responded to the buzzing sound of a swarm of bees that settled on the door of Cipriani, 55 Wall St., at 11:45 a.m. Mon., May 31. A beekeeper under contract to the city removed the bees by a vacuum and transported them to Connecticut, according to reports. There were no reports of people being stunt or bees killed in the removal process.
Bag stolen in Soho A Brooklyn woman, 26, placed her handbag at a table in Café Duke at 545 Broadway between Spring and Prince Sts. around 2:30 p.m. Mon., May 24 when a man grabbed it and fled, police said. She lost $120 in cash, a cell phone and charger and credit cards, police said. The victim reported that $200 in unauthorized charges were made on her debit card. Police are checking a surveillance camera tape for an image of the suspect.
Soho burglary Three thieves dress in black, hooded and wearing gloves, broke the glass front door of the Solstice shop at 107 Spring St., near Mercer St. around 5:20 a.m. Mon. May 24 and stole more than 100 pairs of sunglasses with a total value of $25,733, police said. A surveillance camera at the front door recorded the trio removing sunglasses from cases but did not record them entering or leaving the store, police said.
Water St. burglary A resident of an apartment at 130 Water St. at Pine St. left home at 11:10 a.m. Fri., May 21 and returned at 5:20 p.m. to find his front door ajar and a backpack and laptop gone, along with $1,500 in cash and a 15-diamond platinum ring. There was no sign of forced entry but the victim told police he left in haste that day and wasn’t sure he had locked the door. The super of the building said he discovered a normally closed safety door ajar around 2:30 p.m.
Flat tire trick A woman limousine driver pulled to the curb at Grand and Greene Sts. at 10:50 a.m. Fri., May 21 where a man told her she had a flat tire. When the victim, 48, got out to check the tire, the suspect jumped in and drove off, police said. The driver saw her car stop a block away where another man got in, police said. The thieves then headed to the Holland Tunnel and the car was last seen in Newark. The thieves were both described as black men in their 30s, one about 5’6” and 140 pounds and the other about 6’ and 200 pounds.
Fat man fast hands The owner of Ray’s Jewelry at 3 Hanover Sq. near William St. bought gold jewelry for a total of $10,000 in cash on Mon., April 26 from a man who came into the store around 4:12 p.m. After the deal closed and the man left with the money shortly after 5 p.m., the jeweler, 61, discovered that the suspect had switched the real gold with fake gold copies, police said. The thief was described only as a black man about 5’7” and weighing about 220 pounds.
Office burglary. The office manager of a law office at 291 Broadway at Chambers St., told police she discovered at the close of business on Fri., May 21 that $6,000 in cash was missing from a file cabinet that had no sign of forced entry. The manager said that when she opened the office that morning, she noticed the front door was ajar. She told police that the theft could not have occurred during the business day and she surmised that it had been done the previous night. The money was last checked and counted at 2 p.m. Thurs. May 13, police said.
Close beauty school Federal agents closed USA Beauty School at 87 Walker St. near Lafayette St. on Fri., May 28 after a two-year investigation of charges that the school illegally received federal grant money including stimulus funds. The school helped one student applicant falsely fill out a federal grant application last month, according to the complaint. The school also directed an undercover FBI agent to falsify a tax return in order to qualify for federal financial aid, according to court papers.
– Albert Amateau
