14th St. stabbing spree
An enraged man went on a stabbing rampage that started shortly before 6 p.m. Thurs., July 8, in the Solstice sunglasses boutique at 48 Ninth Ave. just north of 14th St. in the Gansevoort District, leaving four people injured.
The suspect, Rushane Brown, 22, of Queens was arrested on a traffic island after employees at a nearby diner tried to stop him, police said. The injured victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, and the suspect was also taken to Bellevue for observation. He was charged the following day with attempted murder, three counts of felony assault and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Brown entered the Solstice store around 5:53 p.m., stabbed the manager, and fled toward 14th St. where a patron in the diner’s sidewalk cafe threw a chair at him and then fled inside the diner. The suspect threw a cafe table at the restaurant door and smashed it. He then stabbed one of the diner’s cooks who came out to stop him, and then ran across the street to the traffic island where people were taking dancing lessons in Sunset Salsa 2010, a free public event. He stabbed two people at the event and knocked over a DJ’s booth, but one of his victims managed to hold him for police.
Penn South rape
A woman, 55, going to her apartment in 305 W. 28th St. near Eighth Ave. in the Penn South complex was stopped in the stairway at 8:20 p.m. Fri., July 9, by a man who came from behind, put his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming and raped her, police said. Police arrested Michael Shaia, 46, a Queens resident, who was arraigned on a rape charge on July 11 and is in jail pending a July 15 court appearance.
Knifepoint mugging A group of four robbers approached a Lower East Side man, 23, walking on the southwest corner of Washington Place and Broadway around 2:30 a.m. Mon., Jan 5, police said. One of the four pulled a knife and said, “Don’t make me cut you,” police said. The robbers took the victim’s iPod, cell phone and wallet with $150 in cash and fled.
Swiped senior’s bag
A Village resident, 80, was pushing her shopping carriage down the east side of Sixth Ave. on Friday afternoon July 9 when a teenage boy approached her near 10th St. at 12:33 p.m., grabbed her bag from the carriage and struggled with the victim, who tried to hold onto it, police said. The suspect wrenched the bag away and fled east on 10th St. but passersby grabbed him and held him for police. Jean Corse, 16, was charged with robbery.
‘Move out’
A woman resident, 54, of an apartment at 215 W. 14th St. returned from a few days vacation at 4 p.m. Sun., July 11, and found a new lock in her door that her key could not open, police said. She had the lock removed and found a note on her desk that said, “Move out.” She also discovered a cell phone, a hand drill, three white shirts and $500 in cash were missing.
Woman thrown down
A woman resident of the Grand St. co-ops was walking on the northeast corner of Sixth Ave. and 14th St. on Sunday evening July 4 when a man rushed up at 7:15 p.m., threw her to the pavement and fled. The victim was taken to Bellevue where she was treated and released.
She cuts ‘friend’
Police arrested June Perez, 48, of 342 E. 13th St. on July 5 and charged her with felony assault for cutting a male friend, 29, on the finger during an argument on the east side of Union Square Park at 14th St. at 12:15 a.m. Fri., July 2. The victim, a neighbor of the suspect, needed several stitches to close the wound.
Subway strong-arm
A White Plains man flagged down a passing police car on W. 14th St. between Seventh and Eighth Aves. at 4:45 a.m. Sat., July 10, and told police that he had been in the subway station on Eighth Ave. when a man strong-armed him and took his Iceman watch valued at $4,000, $637 in cash and his cell phone. Police canvassed the area, and the victim identified a suspect who had his watch and cash. Police charged Richard Johnson, 26, with grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
Soho burglary
An employee of a residential building at 64 Grand St. at Wooster St. called police on Tuesday afternoon July 6 after he heard the door of an apartment in which he was working being shaken. Police arrested Glenn Johnson, 32, and charged him with second-degree burglary. Johnson had made his way into the building by following residents into the lobby, police said.
Woman bank robber
A woman with black, shoulder-length hair and wearing a New York Mets cap and large black sunglasses walked into the Bank of America branch at 670 Sixth Ave. and 21st St. shortly before 11 a.m. Wed., July 7, and passed a note demanding money. The suspect, a white woman between 32 and 40 years old, 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 150 to 160 pounds, was also wearing a gray T-shirt with an NY logo, blue jeans, black flat shoes and was carrying a white plastic grocery bag, police said. She made off with an unknown sum of cash.
Albert Amateau
