Samaritan to robber
Talk about hitting someone while they are down; a woman lost over $3,000 in cash and merchandise when her bag was stolen after she had tripped in the subway station, according to police.
The Queens woman, 60, told police she entered the station at William and Fulton St. at about 1:15 a.m. on Sat. Oct. 5. The woman was on the mezzanine level when she heard her train approaching the platform, so she said she made a run for it — and tripped. According to police, a man in his 20s came up behind her and offered help. She turned him down but he bent down, grabbed her purse and ran up the stairs to the A/C train platform.
She chased the snatcher up the stairs and onto the platform, where police said a third party witness spotted a man running to the Fulton St. exit. Police believe he escaped the subway system for the streets. A police canvass showed that there were no cameras on the mezzanine level, but footage was available on the A/C train platform.
The victim lost several designer items, including a $300 Coach bag, a $100 Coach wallet, $500 in cash, $900 white gold and diamond necklace, $500 gold snake necklace, $300 Tiffany necklace and bracelet, $400 white gold earrings, a pair of $120 silver hoop earrings, her debit cards, credit cards, driver’s permit, insurance card and a $199 MetroPCS cell phone. She was also treated for a twisted ankle at the scene, according to police.
Tribeca bag grab
A woman was not clutching her clutch when a thief managed to make off with the $2,200 accoutrement last week.
The Brooklyn woman said she set her Fendi 2Jours purse on the floor of Aroma Espresso Bar in Tribeca and her bag was stolen from the 100 Church St. location sometime between 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 3. She also said the bag was brand new.
Wrecked and robbed
One reveler could not remember his night let alone his belongings, which he said probably got lost, well… sometime after he got drunk.
The 25-year-old man reported to police that his shoulder bag was taken from him while he was heavily intoxicated, on Oct. 1, between about 3 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. At a 7 a.m. interview with the police, he told them he could not remember where he had last seen his belongings.
At a more sober interview two days later, he clarified, saying he had been drinking with friends on Tues., Oct. 1. At some point, he said he woke up to discover that he was on a southbound J train at the Fulton St. station, sans property. He says he was later informed by his bank that there had been $35 in unauthorized charges at a CVS, and a failed attempt to purchase an unlimited monthly MetroCard at an M.T.A. machine. The man also reported that his iPhone 4S, iPhone charger, debit cards and New York State I.D. were missing.
Record time
It was a mad dash for one FiDi “customer” with expensive taste, in particular, a $10,000 wristwatch.
An employee of Renaissance Fine Jewelry in the Financial District reported to police that a theft had occurred at the store on Fri., Oct. 4. A man entered the store at 225 Broadway around 11:45 a.m. and proceeded to browse. The employee said that the man asked to try on two other watches. The third watch, however, was particularly to his liking. The employee put it on his wrist and then said he turned away from the customer to close the display case. As soon as his back was turned, the customer fled the store with the $10,000 Breitling watch.
The employee ran after the man, and pursued him south on Broadway and west on Vesey before finally losing him in the crowd. The employee promised to get video surveillance to the police at a later date, but had no description of the man.
Pan mishandled
A panhandler was arrested after his tactics became aggressive.
Police arrested a man for assault on Fri., Oct. 4 at the Canal St. (A,C,E) subway station after he hit a woman on the subway with a broom and dustpan. The woman, 47, told the arresting officer that the man has approached her at about 10:30 p.m. on a southbound C train and asked for money. She said when she ignored him, he reacted by striking her left leg with his cleaning supplies, causing pain and swelling. He was apprehended shortly after.
Drunk driver convicted
A New Jersey man was convicted of assault and drunk-driving charges stemming from a 2012 car crash on the Lower East Side that permanently injured two people, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced on Sept. 25.
A State Supreme Court jury found Joseph Darlington, 43, guilty of aggravated vehicular assault and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, along with other felony charges, the D.A. said.
According to court documents, Darlington was driving east on Delancey St. during the early morning hours of March 11, 2012, after a night of drinking. He blew through a red light at the intersection of Delancey and Allen Sts., colliding with another car before spinning into the median and hitting the two pedestrians.
Darlington is expected to be sentenced on Nov. 15, the D.A. said.
Granny foils crooks
Five Chinese nationals admitted they tried to steal cash and goods from an elderly Chinatown woman by using a scam involving “evil spirits,” D.A. Vance announced on Oct. 1.
Jun Liang, 45; Xiumei He, 40; Yae Chen, 46; Huahuo Chen, 50; and Jingchang Quan, 44, all pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted grand larceny as a hate crime and first-degree scheme to defraud, the D.A. said.
According to court documents, the five Chinese citizens approached a 67-year-old woman on the afternoon of June 3, near the corner of Elizabeth and Bayard Sts. in Chinatown, and tried to convince her that they could cleanse her money and possessions of evil spirits. But the woman became suspicious, and immediately reported the incident to police at the Fifth Precinct.
Later that day, officers arranged a sting operation in which the elderly woman met the five scammers near Chatham Square and handed over a bag stuffed with fake cash and property. When the con artists tried to work their scheme by distracting the woman and pocketing the goods, police stepped in to arrest them.
— Kaitlyn Meade and Sam Spokony
