Robbed at Whitehall
A Staten Island woman, 30, and a group of friends were on an N train southbound from Eighth St. around 4 a.m. Sun., Sept. 26, when an argument broke out among them, police said. When the train arrived at the Whitehall St. station, two of the friends became unfriendly, punched her in the head, took $70 and her cell phone from her bag and fled. Verizon traced a call on the cell phone to Brooklyn, but there was no arrest, police said.
Subway wallet snatch
A man, 55, visiting from Verona, Italy, was buying a MetroCard at the subway station at Broadway and John St. around 6:20 p.m. Sat., Sept. 25, when a stranger offered assistance. The visitor refused and proceeded to complete the purchase when the stranger grabbed his wallet, swiped himself through the highwheel turnstile, fled to the train platform and disappeared. The victim lost $200 in U.S. currency, 200 Euros, Italian ID and credit cards.
Soho mugging
A Wilton, Conn. man was texting while walking on W. Broadway at Prince St. around 3:50 a.m. Sat., Sept. 25, when a stranger stopped him, demanded his wallet, then punched him in the face and fled but didn’t take the wallet, police said. The suspect, James Unstead, 38, was arrested a short time later on Prince St. near Greene St. and was identified at the First Precinct stationhouse where he was charged with attempted robbery.
I scream, you scream etc.
An argument between two ice cream vendors broke out on the southeast corner of Water and Fulton Sts. around 2 p.m. Sat., Sept. 25, over who would occupy the corner that afternoon. One of the vendors hurled a soda can that struck his rival in the head inflicting cuts, police said. Carlos Villacis, 45, was charged with assault.
Picked wallet
A woman was putting her wallet in her bag after making a purchase at a food stand on Broadway and Liberty St. around 7 p.m. Fri., Sept. 24, when a stranger bumped her. The victim, 26, didn’t realize her wallet had been stolen until she got back to her Gold St. apartment. She lost $40 in cash but cancelled her credit cards before any unauthorized charges could be made.
Soho shoplift
A woman who entered the Tibi boutique at 120 Wooster St. around 6 p.m. Tues., Sept. 21, went into a dressing room with a dress, two shirts and a Merino wool sweater. She managed to get the tags off the clothes and walked out with them in her bag without paying, police said. Store employees were not able to describe the suspect.
Gone from gallery
An employee of the Cheryl Hazan Gallery at 35 N. Moore St., went out for a lunch break around 1 p.m. Wed., Sept. 22, and returned an hour later to discover her wallet which she had left at her desk, had been stolen. She lost $470 and discovered later that unauthorized charges had been made on her credit cards, police said.
Expensive photo A Berkeley, Calif. woman was visiting Pier 17 at the South St. Seaport and put her bag on a bench beside her around 1:32 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 23, while she took a photo of the ships. The visitor, 29, turned back less than a minute later and discovered the bag had been stolen, police said. She lost $500 in cash and personal ID.
Path train robbery
A Brooklyn woman on a PATH train that was pulling into the World Trade station at Vesey St. and West Broadway around 4:45 a.m. Sat., Sept. 11, was approached by a man who asked if she needed any help and then pulled a knife, grabbed her bag with $60, her MetroCard and house keys and fled when the train reached the station, police said.
Subway snatches
A man, 38, was on a northbound R train around 6:15 a.m. Wed., Sept. 15, when a suspect snatched his BlackBerry when the train reached the City Hall station on Broadway at Murray St. and fled with it, police said.
A 14-year-old girl on a No. 5 train missed her stop at Grand Central and got off at the Wall St. station on Broadway around 4:05 p.m. Tues., Sept. 21, police said. An older teenage girl followed her, demanded her cell phone and when she refused, punched the younger victim, grabbed the phone and fled.
— Albert Amateau
