Soho rape
A man who engaged a woman in conversation on a Soho street around 2 a.m. Thurs., June 3 and brought her to the roof of his building at 48 Mercer St., where they talked some more, choked and raped the victim when she tried to leave, police said. The victim told police the suspect asked her where she was going to which she replied, “Home.” He said, “No, sit down,” pushed her into a chair and choked her. The victim said the suspect pulled off her underpants and then raped her while choking her. After he let her go he followed her to the street and offered to give her money if she didn’t tell anyone about it, police said. The victim, 33, called 911 from her home and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. Police arrested John Thomas, 30, and charged him with rape.
Elderly victim
An Independence Plaza woman, 86, told police she was shopping at Lot Less at 299 Broadway near Reade St. around 11 a.m. Fri., June 4 when someone made off with her bag from her shopping cart. The thief used one of her credit cards to make a $2,700 purchase at J & R Music at Park Pl. and used other credit cards for purchases at Duane Reade and a jewelry store, police said.
City van
A Department of Transportation employee parked his van in front of 489 Broadway at Broome St. at 10:30 a.m. Mon., June 7 to fix a traffic light. When he and his assistant returned to the van, they discovered that a thief had made off with two cell phones, police said.
Cell phone suspects
A woman resident of Midtown was shopping on Canal St. at 1:15 p.m. Fri., June 4 when a man came from behind her at the corner of Broadway and snatched her cell phone. A police officer saw the incident and apprehended the suspect, Shamere Thomas, 18, after a short chase and charged him with grand larceny.
Police arrested a boy, 13, for snatching a cell phone at 10:15 a.m. Mon., June 7 from a woman at the intersection of Canal and Mercer Sts. The suspect asked the victim what time it was and snatched the instrument from her right hand when she consulted it for the time.
Looking for deposit slip
A customer of the Chase branch at 42 Broadway put her wallet on the counter around 1 p.m. Fri., June 4 preparing to fill out a deposit slip and discovered there were no slips available, police said. She went to a teller for a slip and when she returned the wallet was gone. Police are reviewing a surveillance tape of a man taking the wallet.
East River rescue
An NYPD Harbor Patrol boat was cruising in the East River near the South St. Seaport shortly after 11 a.m. Thurs., June 3 when the officers on board received a 911 call about a man in the water. They spotted a man in the water off Fulton St., rescued him, and brought him to Bellevue Hospital for observation.
Sues condo neighbor
The condo owner of a basement apartment at 109 Reade St. has filed a civil lawsuit charging a former neighbor who had sold him the apartment with harassing him in order to force him out of the building.
James McGown, a real estate investor and owner of a Brooklyn pizzeria, filed the suit in Manhattan Supreme Court charging Arthur Steuer with trashing the stairs to the basement apartment several times, according to a Daily News item.
The bad blood between McGown and Steuer stemmed from a lawsuit that the condo board filed early this year against McGown and Dimitri Dimoulakis, who rented the apartment from McGown. The board charged that Dimoulakis, a sex-toy salesman, had converted the apartment into a club where all-night parties featured pole dancers and flaming massages. A Manhattan judge in April ordered Dimoulakis to vacate the $1.5 million apartment.
Car break-in
A woman who was visiting a friend at 93 Worth St. at Broadway parked her car at the curb at 2 a.m. Sat., June 5 and returned to it at 11:30 a.m. to find the rear passenger side window smashed. A laptop computer and two duffle bags of clothing were stolen, police said.
Guilty in Soho theft
James Jimenez was found guilty by a Criminal Court jury on June 4 of stealing a $2,000 handbag belonging to actress Kirsten Dunst from the Soho Grand Hotel penthouse she had in August 2007 while shooting “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.” An accomplice, Jarrod Beinerman, pleaded guilty earlier to the theft at the hotel at 310 W. Broadway between Grand and Canal Sts.
— Albert Amateau
