PETIT LARCENY: Had it in the bag | A 60-year-old man might have reckoned that he had the right strategy to avoid theft, when he left his $700 cell phone unattended on Mon., Aug. 24. Knowing that its continued presence could be monitored through a Bluetooth speaker, he placed the Samsung Galaxy S5 in a plastic bag and hid it, according to police, in an arch outside the Morgan General Mail Facility (341 Ninth Ave. btw. W. 29 & 30 Sts.). Then he listened to some music inside. But at about 4:50 p.m., the signal became increasingly faint. He returned to the plastic bag and found that the phone had disappeared without a trace.
ASSAULT: Added a little spice to a bathroom visit | Pepper spray was the reception received by a Parks Department employee at Chelsea Park (btw. W. 27th & W. 28th Sts.) on Fri., Aug. 28. Police say that a 50-something man occupied a restroom for an extended period of time that evening. The employee then checked in on the situation. When he opened the door at about 7 p.m., the man unleashed the pressurized irritant into the 48-year-old employee’s eyes. He refused medical attention, and the perpetrator fled the scene.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: A thorough attack, with no explanation | Someone did not like a 2014 Lexus or the man with the keys — or, perhaps, what either of them stood for. The man parked the car at 10 p.m. on Fri., Aug. 28 on the 400 block of W. 40th St. (btw. 9th & 10th Aves.). He later found the tires slashed and the front and back windshields smashed upon his later return, police said.
GRAND LARCENY: Never talk to strangers plastered | A couple of thieves took a 38-year-old drunk man for a ride on Sun., Aug. 30. The victim told police that he met the two perpetrators on the 500 block of W. 43rd St. (btw. 10th & 11th Aves.) at about 4:15 a.m., and accepted their invitation to an afterparty at an unknown location. They piled into a gray Jeep Grand Cherokee and made sure to visit an ATM on the way before proceeding southbound on Second Ave. One of the men, at this time, went through the victim’s pockets and grabbed his iPhone, debit and credit cards and $500 cash before they kicked the victim out of the vehicle and drove off. Police do not have a description of the perpetrators, an exact location, or even time of the theft. The victim was too drunk to remember, according to a police report.
GRAND LARCENY: Stole his jewelry, if not his heart | Letting an unknown female try on $40,000 worth of bling cost a Scarsdale man dearly on Sun., Aug. 30. The 38-year-old man was dancing away the early morning inside of 1 Oak, a bar located at 453 W. 17th St. (btw. 9th & 10th Aves.). The woman asked to wear his platinum chain and platinum ring (worth $20,000), and he let her. She then said she had to go to the bathroom at about 3 a.m. He never saw her, or the accouterments, again.
INVESTIGATION: Burglary pattern on West Side | The NYPD seeks the public’s assistance in catching two male suspects wanted in connection with 13 burglaries. The incidents occurred from the early afternoon to the evening hours, at locations ranging from W. 32nd St. to W. 87th St. The thieves have an affinity for laptops and other electronics within commercial buildings, police say. One suspect, age 27, was arrested in connection to one incident, according to an NYPD statement released on Aug. 29.
—ZACH WILLAIMS
THE 10th PRECINCT: Located at 230 W. 20th St. (btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.). Commander: Deputy Inspector Michele Irizarry. Main number: 212-741-8211. Community Affairs: 212-741-8226. Crime Prevention: 212-741-8226. Domestic Violence: 212-741-8216. Youth Officer: 212-741-8211. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-741-8210. Detective Squad: 212-741-8245. The Community Council meets on the last Wed. of the month, 7 p.m., at the 10th Precinct or other locations to be announced. The council is on summer break, to resume on Sept. 30.
