Targets elderly men
Police are seeking information on a suspect wanted in connection with four robberies over the past seven weeks of elderly men as they entered their buildings in the Village and Stuyvesant Town.
The suspect grabbed a man, 77, at 9:35 a.m. Mon., May 25, as he entered the lobby of his residence at 447 E. 14th St. in Stuyvesant Town, took his wallet with an undetermined amount of cash and fled.
The next attack, on Fri., May 29, at 1:40 a.m. was in Greenwich Village in the elevator of 247 W. 12th St. when the suspect took money from the wallet of a 91-year-old man and fled on foot west toward Eighth Ave.
On Sun., June 7, at 3:10 p.m. the suspect followed a man, 62, visiting relatives, into the lobby of 440 E. 23rd St. in Peter Cooper Village, pushed the victim to the floor and made off with his wallet and an undisclosed amount of cash.
The latest robbery was at 6:09 p.m. Fri., July 10, when the suspect followed a man, 77, into the building at 440 E. 20th St. in Stuyvesant Town, pushed him to the floor and took his wallet and an undisclosed amount of cash and fled.
The suspect was described as a bald black man, age 40, 5 feet 8 inches, about 200 pounds and wearing dark clothing. Information may be reported anonymously at the Crime Stoppers hot line, 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577.
Village mugging
Two suspects came up on either side of a Fairview, N.J., man, 24, walking on Eighth Ave. at 13th St. shortly after 3 a.m. Sun., July 12, and punched his face repeatedly, police said. They went through the victim’s pocket but failed to grab any money. Police arrested Dawid Karwoski and Rafal Kordys, both 21, in connection with the case and charged them with robbery.
Phone-card scammer
A man who entered Village Stationery, at 552 LaGuardia Place, at about 7:30 p.m. Sat., July 11, asked to see what phone cards the store carried, then left but returned a few minutes later to buy $150 worth of the cards. However, he put only $130 on the counter, police said. The clerk called him back for the rest of the money, whereupon the suspect grabbed the cards and the money and started to walk out. The clerk stopped him and demanded the cards back, but discovered that the suspect had kept a valid card and returned a canceled one. The suspect punched the clerk in the face and fled. Police canvassed the area but did not find the suspect, described only as a black man about age 20. The clerk was treated at St. Vincent’s Hospital and released.
Hospitality abused
A resident of 360 W. 15th St. told police he invited a stranger up to his apartment sometime after midnight on Mon., July 6, and fell asleep around 3 a.m. He woke up later to find that his flat-screen television, a laptop, audio equipment and jewelry with a total value of $4,700 and credit cards had been stolen. There were also unauthorized charges on a credit card.
Raccoon’s last leap
A raccoon jumped from a private garbage truck into the John Varvatos boutique at 222-224 Spring St. at Greene St. around 2 p.m. Sat., July 11, and climbed to the top of a display case, according to a Daily News article. The manager of the store called Animal Care and Control, which sent a crew to capture the animal, which appeared sickly and had to be euthanized.
Found dead in Brooklyn
The body of Xie Chao, 37, owner with her husband, You Song Zhu, 41, of a restaurant-supply business on Allen St. in Chinatown, was found in her husband’s car in Bay Ridge near the couple’s Brooklyn home on Mon., July 6, after she had been reported missing on July 2, police said. Her husband told police on July 5 that the victim’s family in China had received an anonymous phone call demanding $50,000 for her safe return. The Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating the cause of death. Police are also investigating the case but there were no arrests by Tues., July 14.
Life for killer bouncer
Brooklyn State Supreme Court Justice Abraham Gerges on Wed., July 8, sentenced Darryl Littlejohn, 44, to life in prison without parole for the February 2006 murder of Imette St. Guillen, the John Jay co-ed last seen at The Falls, the former bar at 224 Lafayette St. where Littlejohn worked as a bouncer. He was found guilty of transporting her from the bar, strangling her and dumping her nude, bound body near the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. The life sentence is to be served concurrently with a 25-year-to-life term for kidnapping a York College woman in Queens prior to the St. Guillen murder.
Phony valet
On Wed., July 8, at 8:10 p.m., Lieutenant Keith Maresca, the Sixth Precinct cabaret unit commander, spotted a man setting up orange cones in a no-parking area opposite Buddha Bar, at 26 Little W. 12th St., and selling illegal parking spaces to drivers. The drivers who “bought” parking spaces risked getting tickets or being towed. Police charged Vega Warnell, 42, with fraudulent accosting.
Union Square robbery
Police arrested a teenager for stealing a laptop computer from a man in Union Square Park at 5:30 a.m. Mon., July 6. The victim, 37, chased and caught the suspect, who punched him in the face before police apprehended him. The suspect pleaded guilty to robbery on July 10 and was sentenced to 20 days in jail. Under his plea agreement he was charged as a juvenile and his name was not revealed.
Stab threat
Two suspects stopped a young man, 17, on E. 14th St. at First Ave. at 3:30 a.m. Wed., July 8, demanded everything in his possession and threatened to stab him when he refused, according to reports. They took his cell phone from his pocket and fled.
Double trouble
Police arrested Chen Lin, 19, and Chun Lo, 17, both of Brooklyn, during the early hours of Mon., July 6, and charged them with robbing two women, one at knifepoint at Grand St. at Bowery, and the other, a block away on Forsyth St. Both were released on bail pending an Aug. 8 court appearance, according to a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney.
Melon mayhem
A group of young men attacked an employee of Trader Joe’s, the supermarket at 142 E. 14th St., on Saturday morning July 4 and smashed three watermelons stolen from the store’s display, police said. Joseph Alayon, 23, and Tylisha Ray, 16, both of Queens, were arrested and charged with beating the victim and with criminal mischief.
Albert Amateau
