First Precinct
Tube toucher
Police are searching for a man alleged to have masturbated in the Fulton St. subway station on Sun., April 28, around 8:30 p.m.
The purported perv was touching himself on a stairwell landing near the 4/5 platform when a 19-year-old woman walked past him, she told police. He fled in an unknown direction soon after.
The suspect is described as being a black man in his 20s wearing a dark-colored baseball cap and dark-colored hoodie.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted on the CrimeStoppers Web site at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
Swanky shoplift
A young man was charged with stealing $1,070 worth of items at the Moncler boutique at 99 Prince St. in Soho on Wed., May 1, around 6:30 p.m.
Police said that he put a $645 cardigan and a $425 hat inside his backpack and walked out without paying. Peter Cheung, 24, was arrested shortly after the incident.
Sixth Precinct
Crowbar attack
A 32-year-old man reported being struck with a crowbar at the southeast corner of E. 14th St. and University Place on Tues., April 30, around midnight, police said. The victim suffered physical injury from the incident.
Gerson Vargas, 20, was arrested on assault charges at the scene. It was not immediately clear what motivated the attack.
Murderous past
Police have arrested a man previously convicted on a second-degree murder charge for trying to cash a fraudulent check at the TD Bank at 122 Greenwich Ave., at Eighth Ave., on Wed., May 1, around 2:30 p.m.
Harold Verley, 57, who was paroled in November 2017 after serving time for murdering a man in Central Park in 1979, is accused trying to cash a $2,200 check at the bank using a forged New York State ID containing the name and other stolen information of a 66-year-old man. Police said Verley also was in possession of that man’s credit card and Social Security and bank account numbers.
The suspect was arrested at the scene. The victim was home at the time of the incident and is unsure when his identity was stolen.
Speaker seeker
Employees at Urban Space property management told police that a man with no business being in their offices, at Fifth Ave. and W. 14th St., pulled a knife on them and ran off with a $300 Sonos speaker on Fri., April 26, around 8 p.m.
An office custodian reported seeing an unfamiliar man sitting in their offices. Upon asking the stranger why he was there, the perp allegedly said he was picking up speakers and then displayed a knife in a threatening manner. The thief then reportedly ran off with the speaker.
Robert Reaves, 22, was charged Thurs., April 30, in connection to this incident.
Inside job
A 30-year-old resident at 236 W. 10th St. in the Village reported that nearly $30,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from her apartment sometime between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Thurs., March 31.
The victim said her jewelry was inside boxes inside her bedroom in the morning, but when she returned home that afternoon, she found the valuables missing and that the boxes had been moved.
Police found no sign of forced entry when they investigated that night. Work was reportedly being done on the apartment building at the time, and the victim told police that management had spare keys to the apartment.
Cops subsequently arrested Kenneth Dellaquila, 60, on Wed., May 1, for stealing the five gold necklaces, four diamond earrings, two diamond bracelets, a diamond ring and a watch that were stolen from the apartment a month earlier.
Busy burglar
Police say a burglar has been targeting restaurants in the Village’s Sixth Precinct and elsewhere since September.
According to police, on Mon., Sept. 17, around 2:44 p.m., the suspect entered a fast-food restaurant at 301 Sixth Ave., near Carmine St., by gaining entry through an unlocked service entrance. Once inside, he swiped a laptop, laptop bag, checkbooks and three credit cards, with a combined estimated value of $440.
Next, on Fri., Nov. 16, around 3:40 p.m.., the same guy allegedly entered a restaurant at 245 E. 44th St. and took a computer tablet worth roughly $500 from the reception counter.
In a third incident, on Fri., Dec. 7, at about 1:10 p.m., the busy burglar entered the Due West gastropub, at 189 W. 10th St., and stole a $2,500 laptop.
On Dec. 29, shortly after 3 p.m., police say, the burglar entered Harwood on Hudson restaurant, at 430 Hudson St., snatching a tablet valued at $800 from the hostess desk before fleeing.
Finally, on Sat., April 13, he reportedly got into an apartment in a residential building around 3:20 p.m., near W. Third St. and Sixth Ave. According to police, “The individual was observed on surveillance [footage] going through coat pockets. The individual removed one coat and a set of keys and then fled the location in an unknown direction.”
The suspect is described as black, around age 50 to 60, with black hair, and has been observed wearing sunglasses over his forehead.
Ninth Precinct
Laptops and bling
Police said that on Sat., April 6, around 3:45 p.m., a man unlawfully entered a residential building around E. Seventh St. and Avenue A. He then entered an apartment and removed laptop computers, jewelry, clothing and credit cards totaling around $6,640 in value.
10th Precinct
‘Con Ed’ con
An elderly man living on W. 24th St. between Ninth and Tenth Aves. was swindled of cash by someone pretending to be a Con Edison worker, according to a police report. On Fri., May 3, at 1:15 p.m., the 79-year-old victim received a call from a person who was impersonating a Con Ed worker. The caller persuaded the victim to purchase a MoneyPak prepaid card with a balance of $395. The senior then gave the card’s number to the thief, who made purchases using the number. There was no description available of the fraudulent utility worker.
Scooter DWI
A woman was arrested Fri., May 3, for operating a scooter in Chelsea while intoxicated, police said.
Around 1 a.m., a woman was riding an unregistered and uninsured scooter, with another passenger onboard, as well. The woman lost control of the scooter and crashed in the middle of W. 20th St. between Seventh and Eighth Aves. She was taken in by police under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. When tested, she had a 0.175 blood-alcohol content — 0.08 or higher is considered legally impaired. Indigo Ford, 26, was arrested for DWI, a misdemeanor.
ATM card stolen
A resident of W. 27th St. near Eighth Ave. reported an identity-theft incident, police said. The victim, 35, said that in early April, his debit-card information was somehow obtained and two fraudulent ATM withdrawals from his account were made in Puerto Rico by an unknown person. Each withdrawal was for $400. The victim canceled his card and notified his bank. There was no description available of who took it.
‘Mohawk’ attack
Police are looking for a man in connection with an assault last week at the Gym Sportsbar, at 167 Eighth Ave., between W. 18th and 19th Sts.
On Fri., May 3, around 7 p.m., according to cops, the suspect reportedly hit a 56-year-old man on the head with a drinking glass after an argument. The victim suffered a cut to the side of his head and was taken to Lenox Health Greenwich Village in stable condition.
Police released surveillance images of the suspect, described as Hispanic, age 25 to 30, 5 feet 8 inches tall and sporting a Mohawk.
Rico Burney,
Gabe Herman
and Lincoln Anderson
