Two sought for Soho assault
A fight between two groups of women in Soho got out of hand when two of them reported that they had been attacked with whatever weapons their opponents had to hand.
Two separate reports were generated by an altercation on the southwest corner of Mercer and Grand Sts. on Sun., Aug., 18 at about 11:20 p.m. The reports did not say if the two complainants were on the same or opposite sides of the conflict.
The first victim, a 29-year-old woman, claimed that she and her friend were engaged in an argument with a group of girls in the street. Police said that her friend did know the group of girls. One of them, whose alias is “Mimi”, attacked the 29-year-old using a set of keys as a weapon, causing several small cuts to the victim’s hands. Mimi then fled in an SUV. She was described to police as about 5’7”, 170 pounds, with short, dark hair.
In a separate complaint, another woman, 25, stated that she was walking to her car when she got into an argument on the corner of Grand and Mercer Sts., at 11:20-11:25 p.m. that night. During the argument, she said she was struck with a wooden stick. She said that her attacker, a 24-year-old woman, called her a derogatory name and said “I ain’t tired, I ain’t stopping.” Police said she was able to identify the woman, and described her as 5’7”, 150 pounds with short hair.
Police said the victim did not suffer any injuries.
Bicycle thefts
Get an extra chain for those bikes, Manhattanites: Several bicycles were stolen from Downtown streets in the past week, all of which were locked to racks at the time, according to their owners.
A Seaport man, 25, told police he locked his $1,250 gray SCOTT Speedster bicycle to a bike post on the northeast corner of Barclay and Church Sts. near the World Trade Center on Mon., Aug. 18 at 4:30 p.m. He returned to pick it up at 1:15 a.m., but found that the lock was broken and the bike was missing. Camera footage was available from the commercial building next door to the barren bike post, on the southwest corner of Barclay and Church Sts.
Another man, 30, lost his bike to a thief after chaining it up outside the World Financial Center in Battery Park City last week, police reported. The man said he had chained the bicycle outside 200 Liberty St. to a bicycle rack while he was at work on Tues., Aug. 20. He noticed that the bike was still there when he went outside for a meal break at about 5 p.m., he said, but when he got done with work at 11:33 p.m., the $1,100 gray Cannondale CAAD8 bicycle was gone. The chain was also missing. According to police, video surveillance of the area is maintained by Brookfield Office Properties.
Police also received a report from a man outside his Tribeca business on Fri., Aug. 23. The victim told an officer that his $3,000 Litespeed bike and $90 chain had been stolen from a nearby bike rack on the corner of Barclay and Washington Sts. sometime between 8:15 a.m. and 3:01 p.m. that day. He said he did not see the person who took it.
iPad robbery
Police apprehended one iPad poacher last week, but her partner is still at large after a robbery in the Financial District.
According to police, the victim of the robbery, a 30-year-old woman, was walking alone up South Street on Wed., Aug. 21 at 4:45 p.m. The woman said was approached from behind by two other women. One of them remained behind her while the other circled in front of her and asked for her phone. She said they then both pushed her against a parked truck on the street and then tackled her to the ground. One of them took her iPad before fleeing the scene.
Police apprehended one suspect, Starmaisha Janeppe, 20, but said the other got away with the stolen device. While the partner had not been caught by press time, police reported that the $800 iPad had been recovered.
Citibike swiped
A man attempting to help his friend rent a Citibike had his own rental ridden away by a stranger who was probably not intending to bring it back after 30 minutes.
The 24-year-old stated that he was at the bike share docking station at 90 Maiden Lane on Fri., Aug. 23 at about 9:05 p.m. He said that while helping a friend, he had left his own recently rented blue bicycle about ten feet away. At that point, a man walking east on Maiden Lane swerved over, hopped on the unattended bike and took off northbound on Gold St.
Police contacted traffic management for possible tracking data but were unable to locate it. Aside from the monstrous fees the thief must be racking up, the N.Y.P.D. valued the Citibike at $1,200.
Shoplifters not sensed
A boutique in Soho was hit by shoplifters this past week, before they could even get cameras installed, an employee reported.
According to police, a shoplifter walked away with over $1,000 in merchandise from Helmut Lang, a designer clothing store at 93 Mercer St., a store employee told police. The incident occurred on Aug. 14 between 3:10 and 3:30 p.m., the employee said.
The security footage time stamp, which the employee said was incorrect, sets the time an hour later. Police noted the 22-year-old employee also said that there were no sensors installed because the store “just opened”. However, the boutique reportedly opened in March 2011. The items stolen were a $370 Helmut Lang sweater and a $895 leather dress.
— Kaitlyn Meade
