Assaulted for sneakers A violent robber was collared in Tribeca early on Sun., Oct. 14 after he allegedly beat up a man and stole his sneakers.
Ryan Hopson, 28, attacked the 30-year-old victim on West Broadway near White Street around 3 a.m., police said. While the victim was on the ground, Hopson pulled off his Nike Foamposite sneakers, valued at $250, and fled on foot.
Police arrived at the scene shortly afterward, and after a canvass of the area they stopped four men in front of 46 White St. and brought them to the First Precinct. Hopson was part of that group, and police were able to identify him because he had the stolen sneakers on him.
Hopson was charged with robbery, assault and criminal possession of stolen property.
He needed smoother hands Threatening a drugstore employee with a weapon seems like a lot of trouble when the prize is only three bottles of hand lotion.
Police are searching for the man who did just that at the Broadway Downtown Pharmacy, on Broadway between White and Franklin Streets, on Fri., Oct. 12.
A store employee told cops that the suspect entered around 2 p.m., placed the bottles of hand lotion in his backpack and tried to leave without paying for them. When the employee stopped him, the suspect — who is described as a black man, approximately 50 years old, 5’9’’ and 150 pounds — pulled a pair of metal shears from his pocket and threatened to use it, police said.
The employee proceeded to grapple with the suspect, eventually sustaining a minor cut on his hand but also forcing the perp to drop both his weapon and his backpack, police said. And after he realized the gig was up, the suspect fled the scene empty-handed.
Knifepoint robbery Cops are looking for a man who robbed a woman at knifepoint near the South Street Seaport on Tues, Oct. 9.
The victim, 29, told cops that, as she was walking past the corner of Beekman and Front Streets around 9:30 p.m., an unknown Hispanic man approached her and asked for directions. He then displayed a knife and demanded her money.
The woman handed over her MetroCard and $80 in cash, and the suspect fled east on Beekman Street, police said.
Stolen scooter and car A man who left his motor scooter unattended for two days on a Bowling Green street corner returned the evening of Sat., Oct. 13 to find it gone.
The victim, 52, told cops that he had parked his 2008 Vespa at the corner of William and Beaver Streets on Thurs., Oct. 11, and secured it with a chain lock around one of the wheels. When he went to pick it up over the weekend, he found that the lock had been broken and removed, along with the scooter, which he valued at $1,250. There was no evidence left at the scene, police said.
The incident followed another auto theft that took place earlier in the week, only blocks away. A street vendor, 37, told cops that his car had been stolen while he left it idling at the corner of Water Street and Maiden Lane around noon on Wed., Oct. 10.
The man said that he had left the 2001 Oldsmobile there because he was attending to his food truck nearby. When he returned minutes later, the car was gone. The vendor also lost $10,000 he had left in the car, police said.
Subway phone swipe A slick thief picked an unsuspecting man’s pocket as he was walking out of a Financial District subway station on the morning of Mon., Oct. 15.
The victim, 27, told police he had just gotten off a northbound R train at the Cortlandt Street stop around 8 a.m. and was listening to music on his iPhone while walking along the platform. After he pocketed the phone while walking through the turnstile, the man said he felt a tug on his pants.
He looked down and realized that an unknown thief had swiped the phone from his right pants pocket. The victim had no chance of spotting the perp because he quickly disappeared in the rush-hour crowd.
Construction burglary Police are on the hunt for the burglar who swiped a pricey piece of equipment from a construction vehicle in the Financial District on Fri., Oct. 12.
The driver of the Trocom Construction Corporation van told police that he had parked on Fulton Street, between William and Gold Streets, around 10 a.m. Shortly after that, he came back to find that an unknown perp had smashed the van’s rear door window, opened it and made off with a gas-powered cut-off saw, valued at $1,400.
Cops said they might be able to use video surveillance footage from a nearby store on Fulton Street to try to identify the suspect.
Unsuccessful pickpocket Mark Gonzalez, 39, was arrested after he tried to snatch a man’s cell phone in the Financial District on Sat., Oct. 13.
A 21-year-old man told police that, as he was walking past the corner of William and Fulton Streets around 9 p.m., Gonzalez snuck up behind him and felt into his pants pockets. He quickly realized that his $500 Samsung phone was the target, and fought Gonzalez off.
Cops in the area responded to the commotion and immediately arrested Gonzalez for attempted grand larceny.
— Sam Spokony
