Grand Larceny: I wear your sunglasses at night
A brazen thief snatched a $900 pair of Cartier sunglasses, as they dangled on the shirt of a 33-year-old male who was leaving the Meatpacking District’s SL Lounge (409 W. 14 St.) at 3:30am on Sun., Sept. 15. The pricey peepers were last seen in possession of the perp, a bald male who fled eastbound towards Ninth Ave.
Grand Larceny: They put her stuff in ‘choke’ hold
Perhaps it was the late hour, or the focused mission to line her stomach after a night of drinking — but something lead a 22-year-old Staten Island woman to put neglect on the menu, when she stopped in for a quick slice at Artichoke Basille’s Pizza (10th Ave., at 17th St.) at 3am on Sat., Sept. 14. When the woman left her purse unattended on a bench, two thieves (one male, one female, both 22 years of age) went to work. The man scooped up the purse and handed it off to his partner. Officers of the 10th Precinct soon arrived to cuff the couple, and found the female defendant to be in possession of the victim’s purse (whose contents included credit cards, a NY state driver’s license and $120 in cash). The arresting officers, who made the collar based on eyewitness accounts, noted that the restaurant’s surveillance video showed the two defendants and the victim in the same area (but did not capture the incident).
Petty Larceny: Glove compartment
A 2011 black Honda four-door sedan was broken into sometime between 3:30pm on Fri., Sept. 13 and just after midnight on Sat., Sept. 14 — according to the owner, who parked the car in the rear of 85 10th Ave. (at 15th St.), and returned to find a side window broken. A black GPS Garmin navigation unit, valued at $200, was taken from the glove compartment. Frequent readers of this blotter page will recognize West Chelsea GPS theft as an occurrence almost as common as the use of a car’s glove compartment as the go-to “hiding place.”
Criminal Impersonation: Mouthy motorist masquerades as cop
A 39-year-old Staten Island man told police (the actual police) that a man who claimed to be a cop pointed “what appeared to be a firearm,” then forcefully instructed him to get back into his car. The incident took place when the two men got into a heated verbal dispute after exiting their vehicles, on W. 24th St. (btw. 10th & 11th Ave.), at around 10:30pm on Sat., Sept. 14. The perp was driving a gray Hyundai Santa Fe with New York Plates (which was not found during a canvass of the area).
Lost Property: Boozer’s hazy bid for belongings
Time spent sobering up in the drunk tank didn’t do enough to jog the memory of a 44-year-old New Jersey man, who filed a complaint at (and against) Chelsea’s own 10th Police Precinct (230 W. 20 St., btw 7th & 8th Aves.). At 6:30am on Mon., Sept. 16, the man stated that he did not receive his cellphone (an iPhone 4S valued at $500) or his house keys, upon the return of his vouchered property — which was being returned to him upon his release. At the time of his arrest, the man must have been coming off a stretch of time spent around bars of a different type, as officers noted he “was highly intoxicated, slurring words” and had “a strong smell of alcohol on his breath.” In his complaint, the victim admitted that he was “not sure” where he lost the items in question.
Grand Larceny: Booth buddy busts back pocket move
He was cruising for love — but trouble was the only thing a 39-year-old Brooklyn man picked up when he met a new pal in a booth (at one of Chelsea’s fine adult-only stores, in which videos can be viewed in short bursts). While in the booth, the 28-year-old perp removed the victim’s iPhone from his back pants pocket — and demanded that $100 be withdrawn from a nearby Citibank ATM (118 Eighth Ave., at 16 St.), in order for the phone to be returned. A uniformed officer, on patrol in the area, arrested the sleazy scam artist — and the phone was recovered, while the perp was transported to the 10th Precinct for booking.
—Scott Stiffler
