Another flagrant foul
Security guards at Lotus held Marcelo De Barrosa, 26, a patron of the club at 409 W. 14th St., early Sun., Aug. 26, until police arrested him after a woman patron, 24, charged that De Barrosa followed her to the bathroom, groped her and wouldn’t let her leave until she was able to break free, police said. De Barrosa, described in a New York Post article as a 6-foot-7-inch, 200-pound former basketball player at Kansas State University, was freed on $15,000 bail pending an Aug. 31 court date.
Arrest rob suspect
A visitor from Ohio was approached by a stranger at 5 a.m. Sun., Aug. 26, who engaged him in conversation and then grappled with him at Bedford and Commerce Sts., police said. The stranger snatched money and a digital camera from the victim, who held onto him, shouted for police, and held on until police arrived. The suspect, Jeffrey Odom, 49, of Queens, was charged with second-degree robbery.
Motorcycles stolen
A man who parked his motorcycle in front of 435 W. 14th St. in the Gansevoort Market District at 4:10 p.m. Mon., Aug. 27, returned about two hours later and found it had been stolen, police said. The victim told police he later saw a man who apparently works in the Meat Market wearing a brown bracelet that looked like the one he had hanging on the bike’s handlebar.
A man who parked his motorcycle on Fifth Ave. between 13th and 14th Sts. on Tuesday evening Aug. 27 found it was stolen when her returned to it a short time later, Sixth Precinct police said.
Club drug busts
Police from the Manhattan South Narcotics Squad raided Mr. Black, a club at 643 Broadway at the corner of Bleecker St., at 4:45 a.m. Sat., Sept. 1, and arrested 32 suspects on drug charges, 17 of them club employees. Two of the 15 other arrests were for felony sale of drugs and 13 were for possession. Police found 60 bags and vials of cocaine and an undisclosed amount of ecstasy. The club has a reputation as a celebrity hangout and is known for its bare-bottom waiter staff.
Handbags, wallets gone
A woman put her bag on the bench next to where she was sitting in Washington Square Park at noon on Fri., Aug. 24, and discovered a few minutes later that someone had made off with it. A woman patron of Off the Wagon, 109 MacDougal St., had her bag stolen at about 3 a.m. Fri., Aug. 24. A woman patron of The Other Room, 143 Perry St., put her bag down beside her on Thursday night Aug. 23 and when she got up to leave at 11 p.m. she found the bag open and her wallet gone. A man who went shopping in Gristede’s, 3 Sheridan Square, at 5 p.m. Sat., Aug. 25, discovered his wallet had been taken from his back pants pocket when he got to the checkout counter.
Chelsea pipe bomb
A small explosive device believed to be a pipe bomb went off at 1:10 a.m. Tues., Sept. 4, in front of 257 W. 29th St. between Seventh and Eighth Aves. and caused minor damage to a car parked at the curb, police said. No one was injured and police said it was not believed to be an act of terrorism. The device exploded in front of Studio Dante, a dance theater owned by Michael Imperiolli, an actor in “The Sopranos” HBO television show, but it was not known whether the device was intended for Studio Dante, police said.
Beat and rob elderly
Police are seeking public help in arresting two robbers preying on elderly Asian men on the Lower East Side. The suspects were described as Hispanic men, between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing between 140 and 150 pounds. On Thurs., July 19, at 7:39 p.m. they followed one victim, 81, into the lobby of 248 Broome St. near Ludlow St., knocked him to the floor, punched and kicked him, took an undisclosed amount of cash from him and fled. The victim was taken to Beth Israel Hospital where stitches were required to close cuts in his face, police said.
On Sun., Aug. 26, the suspects followed another victim, 71, into the building at 34 Orchard St., between Canal and Hester Sts., knocked him to the floor, punched and kicked him and took his wallet with an undisclosed amount of cash. The victim was taken to New York Downtown Hospital where he was treated for a fractured rib, police said.
People with information about the suspects are asked to phone police at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), an anonymous tip line.
Woman robbed
Two muggers assaulted and robbed a 25-year-old woman when she walked out of the elevator of her Cherry St. building in the LaGuardia Houses at about 4 p.m. Thurs., Aug. 30, police said. Both described as 5 feet 6 inches or 5 feet 7 inches and weighing about 150 pounds, they choked the victim, punched her in the eye and fled with her bag. The victim declined medical attention. Police say this pair of suspects are not the same as the two men preying on elderly Asian men.
Club burglary
Burglars with a chain saw and a drill cut a hole in the roof of Stereo, the club at 512 W. 29th St., sometime between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sun., Sept. 3, drilled open a safe in the manager’s office and made off with $29,000, police said. The theft was discovered at 10 p.m. Sunday when the staff arrived to open for business.
Albert Amateau
