PERIODICAL ARSON
Police say they caught Martin Stengel, 30, in the act of igniting a newspaper container in front of 255 W. 14th St. The San Francisco resident was arrested at about 1:30 a.m. on Sun., April 26 and charged with misdemeanor arson. His motives remain unclear. A Chelsea Now examination of the scene two days later found a partially melted Village Voice dispenser there with no other publications represented in the vicinity.
CRAZY TRAFFIC
The driver of a 2009 Toyota Camry got his car jumped near the intersection of W. 34th St. and 10th Ave. in the early morning hours of Sat., April 25. The 58-year-old motorist was moving along when Chelsea resident Onur Demirek, 32, allegedly dashed into traffic and leapt onto the car causing damage to the windshield at about 3 a.m. Police say that Demirek was acting “erratically” at that time and continued doing so once they attempted to arrest him. He was charged with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, before being taken to Bellevue Hospital.
WEED SMOKER THROWN IN THE JOINT
Relaxed police attitudes towards marijuana possession did not spare a teenager from arrest for smoking a joint in front of 408 W. 15th St. Police say Benjamin Schwartz, 19, was toking away just before 1 p.m. on Fri., April 24 as he stood on the sidewalk with the lit marijuana cigarette in his left hand. The one-man party subsequently concluded. The Upper East Side resident was arrested and charged with criminal possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor. A search of Schwartz’s possessions reportedly scored another stash of ganja.
$140 FOR OLD NEWS
A discounted price for an iPad tempted a 20-year-old woman to give $140 to a stranger near the north west corner of W. 17th St. and Eighth Ave. on Thurs., April 23. Police say the victim handed over the cash after the unknown perpetrator offered to sell the Apple tablet computer for $500. The woman discovered she’d been swindled when she opened the box at 3:30 p.m. and found all that she had purchased were old pieces of newspaper. There was no description in a police report of the suspect, who remains at large.
FORGED NYPD PARKING POWER
A traffic cop reportedly knew a fake NYPD parking permit when he saw one in front of 32 W. 32nd St. on Sat., April 25. The astute parking enforcer noticed the forged document on the dashboard of a vehicle parked there at about 7:30 p.m. Rodion Shapovalov, 34, was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony. A police report did not state the model of the automobile nor Shapovalov’s alleged relationship to it.
THE 10th PRECINCT | Located at 230 W. 20th St. (btw. 7th & 8th Aves.). Commander: Deputy Inspector Michele Irizarry. Main number: 212-741-8211. Community Affairs: 212-741-8226. Crime Prevention: 212-741-8226. Domestic Violence: 212-741-8216. Youth Officer: 212-741-8211. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-741-8210. Detective Squad: 212-741-8245. The Community Council meets on the last Wed. of the month, 7 p.m., at the 10th Precinct or other locations to be announced. The next meeting is May 27.
—BY ZACH WILLIAMS
