2nd Ave. sex assault
Police arrested a Washington Heights resident shortly after 1:20 a.m. on Sat., Sept. 13, in Finnerty’s Irish Pub, 221 Second Ave. at E. 14th St., and charged him with attempted rape and sexual abuse.
The suspect, Daniel Vidal-Minor, 33, accosted the victim as she was coming out of the restroom, pushed her back inside and covered her mouth with his hand, fondled her breast and unzipped his trousers, according to the charges. The victim managed to escape and alerted employees, who held Vidal-Minor for police. He was jailed pending a Sept. 30 court date.
Lounge laptop rage
A patron of One, the club at 1 Little W. 12th St., after becoming enraged when the bartender refused to serve him at 1 a.m. on Sun., Sept. 28, threw glasses at the bartender and hurled a laptop computer behind the bar, smashing it, police said. Adan Castaneda, 37, of 395 South End Ave. in Battery Park City, was charged with criminal mischief and attempted assault. He was released on his own recognizance pending a Jan. 14, 2009, court appearance, according to a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.
Feathers ruffled
A woman who was selling feathered earrings in Union Square Park without a vendor’s license became angry when police officers told her to close her stand on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 27. The suspect, Whitney Harris, of Brooklyn, hit one of the cops in the chest and tore off his badge, police said. She was charged with reckless endangerment, assault and unlawful vending, according to a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney.
‘I’m going to stab you’
Police charged Saul Alverez, 17, of the Bronx with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon for pulling a knife and threatening a victim at 12:30 a.m. on Sun., Sept. 28, at Christopher and Greenwich Sts. The victim, 19, told police that the suspect had followed him for several blocks and said, “I’m going to stab you.” Alverez was being held pending an Oct. 3 court appearance, according to the district attorney’s office.
Navigator not there
The owner of a parking lot at Spring and Sullivan Sts. told police on Tues., Sept. 23, that someone had stolen his own Lincoln Navigator, valued at $60,000, from the lot sometime between Aug. 5 and Aug. 10. There was no information on the reason for the reporting delay.
Filch noir
A waitress at Café Noir, 32 Grand St., told police that a patron pushed her, grabbed her cell phone and fled at 9:15 p.m. on Fri., Sept. 19. The suspect, who had just used a credit card to pay a bill, was described as a white man, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, with short, blond hair.
Botanica burgled
Police on Thurs., Sept. 25, arrested one of two suspects who posed as Department of Sanitation inspectors and stole a safe at Botanica Bar, 47 E. Houston St. at Mulberry St., on Sept. 5.
Robert Garcia, 51, of Queens, was charged with second-degree burglary and robbery, said a Manhattan D.A. spokesperson. Garcia was identified in a video surveillance tape, police said.
An unapprehended accomplice of the suspect flashed a false D.S.N.Y. badge at the window of Botanica around noon Fri., Sept. 5, and told the porter to clean up the sidewalk. When the porter came out, Garcia entered the bar, and when the porter went back in, Garcia threw a garbage can at him and fled with the safe, police said.
Lot o’ auto break-ins
A woman who parked her car at the corner of Washington and W. 10th Sts. at 7:15 p.m. Tues., Sept. 23, while she had dinner at a restaurant across the street returned at 11:30 p.m. and discovered the passenger-side window shattered and a gym bag previously left on the floor of the car missing, police said. The bag contained 1.5-carat diamond earrings, a Tiffany watch, a platinum-and-sapphire necklace, sneakers and clothing with a total value of $9,525, police said.
A man who parked his car on the northeast corner of Bank and Washington Sts. at 11 p.m. Mon., Sept. 22, returned the following day at 8 p.m. and discovered the rear window smashed and two antique Persian rugs, valued at $4,000 and $3,500, and an Apple laptop PowerBook, valued at $2,300, gone.
A man who parked his car on the northeast corner of Bleecker St. and LaGuardia Place at 2 a.m. Sun., Sept. 21, to spend a couple of hours at Wicked Willy’s returned to find the trunk lock broken and electronic and musical instruments — including two guitars, two music stands and an MP3 player, with a total value of $4,300 — missing, police said.
Albert Amateau
