By Albert Amateau
Red-hot revenge A woman student of the School of Visual Arts and her friend, an M.T.A. employee, were arrested last week and charged with kidnaping a man, branding him with a hot metal object and robbing him after he was lured to the Chelsea Inn, 184 11th Ave. at 23rd St. on Oct. 22.
Kristina Cabal, 21, was arrested Wed. Oct. 25 and Robert Testagrossa, 25, was arrested three days later for branding the victim, Samir Sara, with an “R” on his torso, according to the office of District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. The motive was said to be revenge because Sara ignored Cabal after a one-night affair sometime last year, according to a New York Post article.
Cabal lured the victim to her room in the Chelsea Inn, where Testagrossa stopped him at gunpoint, identified himself as a police officer and, with the help of Cabal and another man, branded the victim, according to the indictments returned on Oct. 30. The three fled with the victim’s cell phone and money, according to the indictments. Police are seeking the unidentified accomplice in the incident.
Testagrossa is not a police officer but has identification as an M.T.A. inspector. He was freed on $25,000 bail and is due for arraignment Nov. 2. Cabal’s bail was set at $35,000 and her next court date was set for Dec. 5.
Stabbed at diner A customer of a restaurant on Division St. between Bowery and Market St. was stabbed in the stomach during an argument after he bumped into three strangers at 8 p.m. Fri. Oct. 27, police said. The attackers fled and the victim, 53, was taken to Bellevue in stable condition.
Arrest flasher A man with a record of lewdness and sexual offenses in California was arrested last week for exposing his genitals to two women on a southbound No. 6 train at Union Square on Aug. 1, police said. The suspect, Kenneth Hoyt, 41, was charged with public lewdness on Tues. Oct. 24 after the women he flashed identified him, police said. Hoyt, registered in California as a low-level sex offender, was arrested last June for exposing himself to teenage girls on the N and R subway line.
Hoyt is not related to Dan Hoyt, the East Village restaurateur who was arrested for a similar offense early this year.
Pugnacious peddler An unlicensed peddler who was arrested at the corner of Canal and Mercer Sts. at 4:35 p.m. Sun Oct. 29, struggled with arresting officers and slightly injured one of them, police said. The peddler, Mamadou Dialo, 33, was charged with assaulting a police officer.
Motorcycle theft A man who parked his 2006 yellow Yamaha motorcycle on Broome St. near Varick St. at about 3 p.m. Thurs. Oct. 26 returned 45 minutes later and found it had been stolen, police said.
Van gone A woman who parked her 1997 van on Sixth Ave. near Broome St. at about 2 p.m. Wed. Oct. 25 returned at 7 p.m. and found it gone, police said. There was no broken glass at the scene to indicate a window entry, police said.
Wallet lifted An employee at Amelia’s Diner at 110 Varick St. near Broome St. told police that an unknown thief stole his wallet with $100 cash and credit cards from his jacket, which was on a hook in the diner, sometime before 10:20 a.m. on Sat. Oct. 28.
Bicycles taken Bicycle thieves cut the chains securing three bikes in front of 57 Sullivan St. near Broome St. on Saturday morning Oct. 28 and made off with them, police said. Two of the bikes were valued at $1,500 each and the third was valued at $500, the victim said.
