Going “Number 1” was their first mistake
Uniformed officers from Chelsea’s 10th “Pee”-cint collared a pair of big-bladdered heavies — in two separate May 17 incidents, taking place within two blocks of each other. At 12:50am, officers were called to the scene of 225 W. 19th St., where a 55-year-old male had been blocking pedestrian traffic to the building (and urinating while monopolizing the doorway). Officers observed the man “causing individuals to attempt to go around him to enter and exit.” Upon checking the perp’s ID, officer discovered that he had an outstanding warrant. The man was brought to the 10th Precinct for processing. No word on whether he was given water, nor whether the liquid would have been considered a “flight risk.” In a second incident, taking place at 4:15am opposite of 400 W. 17th St., officers observed a 32-year-old man “urinating in public” and, upon inspection, discovered he was concealing “dangerous drugs.” The first man was booked on charges of Disorderly Conduct, while the second man’s stash earned him a Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance charge.
Murder on Eighth Ave.
As Chelsea Now went to press, the murder of a 28-year-old man remained unsolved. The Brooklyn resident, whom a New York Post blotter item notes had been “arrested 71 times on charges ranging from possession of marijuana to assault and robbery,” was stabbed in the stomach at around 2am on Fri., May 24 — after a loud altercation heard by an employee of the Erotica video store (where the sidewalk incident took place; on Eighth Ave., near 26th St.). A cab driver on break, alerted to the stabbing, called 911. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he died.
Double Trouble on Eighth
A man walking northbound on Eighth Ave. at around 2am on Sun., May 12, was approached by two individuals, who (according to a complaint filed at the 10th Precinct), asked him “to follow them into a phone booth”). That may be a typo, because the incident took place on the sidewalk in front of The Blue Store (206 Eighth Ave., btw. 20th & 21st Sts.). As connoisseurs of exotic video know, this 24-hour establishment has many booths (in which the business at hand rarely involves phone calls). The exact location of the couple’s invite is moot, however, as the spooked victim refused to follow them. At the time of the incident, he noted that the pair were standing very close to him. After the encounter, he discovered that both his phone and his wallet were missing from his coat pocket. The wallet was valued at $75 by the victim, who did not specify the cost of his phone (a BlackBerry Torch).
Thirty minutes into Mon., May 20, a man was walking northbound, approaching the southeast corner of 21st St. & Eighth Ave. — when a man standing nearby pulled a knife on him. The victim dropped his iPhone and ran towards W. 22nd St. He later returned to the scene of the incident to retrieve his phone, but it was nowhere to be found.
Petty Larceny: Unsolicited dance cost him dearly
Walking home at around 2am on Fri., May 17 — from a club close to his W. 19th St. apartment — an admittedly intoxicated 23-year-old man discovered his $500 iPhone was missing. This sobering realization took place at the northeast corner of Ninth Ave. & W. 16th St., shortly after he exited the club. While still inside, the tipsy reveler had been approached by a female, who “started dancing with him and started to feel him up,” according to the hazy story he told police. The victim noted that it’s possible he left the phone on a table or at the bar. It’s also possible that the phone was abducted by aliens or exchanged for a handful of magic beans. The more likely scenario, however, points in the direction of the young man’s mysterious dance partner. A half-day later, at 3pm, the victim was able to track his missing phone (using iCloud), and got a hit in Union City, NJ.
Grand Larceny: Popped out window probably explains it
A resident of W. 29th St. parked her 2009 Hyundai four-door sedan at around 11pm on Sun., May 19. When she returned to the car several hours later, she noticed her backpack was missing from the front passenger seat. The woman, who thought it was possible she’d left the backpack at work, told police that it was not there when she went back to check. One thing was for sure, though — the rubber doorframe, near the car’s passenger side mirror, had been popped out. There was no other damage to the car. The backpack, valued at $50, contained items worth $375 (including a Coach wristlet worth $100, $60 in cash and a $40 pair of sunglasses).
—Scott Stiffler
