Sixth Precinct Went to pot A male employee was assaulted over a plant inside Space Market, at 1 University Place, on Sat., June 1, around 2:50 p.m., police said. The worker, 38, said he got into an argument with a man over merchandise — a broken potted plant. He said the dispute escalated and turned physical when the man slapped his hand and bit his right leg. The employee sustained swelling, bruising, redness and pain to his upper right thigh. He refused medical attention at the scene. Michael Johnson, 43, was arrested for misdemeanor assault, and was also found to have an active warrant out for his arrest. He reportedly told arresting officers, “The plant was broken, I wanted a new one.” Teen muggers A man was robbed on Horatio St. on Mon., May 27, around 9:50 p.m., police said. The victim told cops he was walking toward W. Fourth St., when he was surrounded by three or four males, who demanded his wallet. They pushed the man, 33, to the ground and took it. They then punched him in the face and ordered him to fork over his cell phone. The man gave it to them, then complied when they asked him to unlock it. The attackers ran off west on Jane St. The stolen property included an iPhone 6s, a wallet, eyeglasses and five credit cards, with a total value of $670. A canvass was conducted but was unsuccessful. The victim refused medical attention. Images from cameras were available from several nearby locations on Horatio and Jane Sts. The next day, according to police, four youths were arrested for felony robbery: Steven Kaiser, 15; Christopher McMillian, 14; Justice Delaney, 15; and Akhmadov Khumoyun, 14. None of the stolen property was recovered. Bank-rob bust There was an attempted bank robbery at the Chase bank at 835 Broadway, at E. 13th St., on Tues., May 28, at 9 a.m., police said. A bank teller told cops that a woman passed him a note reading, “Give me money, I have a gun.” The robber pointed at the teller what he believed was a gun wrapped in a blue scarf. When the teller did not hand over any money, the woman left the bank. After a photo of the would-be robber was given to responding officers, they successful canvassed the area and found the alleged suspect. But while they tried to arrest her, she reportedly resisted by tensing up and flailing her arms. Brandy Mill, 40, was charged with felony attempted robbery. ‘Tenant’ trouble From inside 780 Greenwich St., between Bank and Bethune Sts., a woman kicked the building’s front door and broke glass on May 27 around 6:25 p.m., according to a police report. After investigation by building management, it was determined the woman allegedly was not renting the apartment she was staying in, and that it was being rented to another woman who had signed a lease but not moved in yet. The leaseholder said the other woman did not have permission to be there. Responding officers found the alleged interloper inside the apartment, with a key that she said a previous tenant gave her. It was unknown who that previous tenant was. Damage to the apartment and to the building’s front door each exceeded $250. A pipe was found in the apartment containing alleged marijuana residue, and the legal tenant told police that it was not hers. Nicole Cannizzaro, 37, was arrested for felony criminal mischief.
Shoplifters Two men and a woman are wanted in connection with shoplifting incidents, two apiece in Greenwich Village and Midtown, police said. The Village thefts occurred at Sunglass Hut, at 755 Broadway, at E. Eighth St. On Tues., May 14, around 3:30 p.m., two men and a woman reportedly entered the store and took 11 designer sunglasses before fleeing on foot. Then on Thurs., May 16, around 4:15 p.m., the two men in the trio took 31 designer sunglasses from the same store and fled. The stolen sunglasses’ total value from the two thefts was $12,800. The trio are also suspects in the theft of a $1,900 handbag at Saint Laurent, at 3 E. 57th St., on Sat., May 11, and the stealing of three handbags, worth a total of $1,800, at the FURLA 5th Avenue Store, at 645 Fifth Ave., between E. 51st and 52nd Sts., on Tues., May 14. The suspects were described as between age 20 and 30. Ninth Precinct ‘Fine’ thieves Police said that on Fri., May 24, around 4 p.m., in the vicinity of E. Fourth St. and First Ave., a 45-year-old man was notified by his credit-card company that a duplicate card had been fraudulently ordered under his name without his authorization. An investigation revealed that on Sat., May 25, at 1:30 p.m., three males, all between age 20 and 30, were observed on video surveillance using the duplicate card inside the Fine Fare supermarket 42 Avenue C. The trio charged about $550 worth of store merchandise. 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.
‘In the bag’ A woman took the phrase “deli takeout” to another level when she allegedly stole $1,000 worth of property from an East Village store. Police said the unidentified suspect swiped unspecified merchandise inside the NY Grill & Deli, at 191 Avenue A, at E. 12th St., on Sat., May 25, around 4 p.m., then fled on foot in an unknown direction. The woman is described as white, age 20 to 30, and last seen wearing a dark jacket and dark shorts. Cops said she was captured on surveillance camera inside the location before the incident. A worker who answered the phone at the deli Thursday said his understanding was that the thief went into the place’s basement, where she stole two store workers’ backpacks and their contents, including an iPad tablet and possibly similar items. He said the woman also snatched some store merchandise, including what he called “CBD juice.” Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers. 10th Precinct Punched wife A man was arrested after assaulting his wife in front of 184 Seventh Ave., at W. 21st St., and causing property damage to a nearby deli, police said. On Sun., June 2, at 12:20 a.m., a woman, 51, was punched in the face by her husband, after the couple argued, a witness said. The woman refused to cooperate with police and answer questions, and left the scene. Police were unable to check if she had any injuries. The witness had video of the husband pushing the woman into the door of the nearby Kharian Deli. The woman was found to have an order of protection, and the man had a parole warrant. The witness told cops the man broke the deli’s door. A police search of the man turned up an ID card and debit card that did not belong to him. Randy Swinson, 50, was arrested for felony criminal contempt and misdemeanor criminal mischief. Spray suspect A man sprayed a chemical agent at several people at REBAR, a Chelsea club, early last Sunday morning, according to police. A 29-year-old man said that, on June 2 around 2 a.m., he standing inside the club, at 225 W. 19th St., between Seventh and Eighth Aves., when an unknown man spritzed something, which police said might have been pepper spray, into his eyes and face, causing eye irritation and redness. The victim received medical care at the scene but did not go to the hospital. A canvass was conducted with negative results, but police said a video was available from the scene. Three other men at the club around the same time reported being victims of the same type of assault. In the sewer On Sun., June 2 at 7 p.m., a 27-year-old woman was arguing with her boyfriend at the corner of W. 34th St. and 11th Ave., when the man threw her cell phone into a sewer grate. The phone was worth about $800. Police searched the man and found a small amount of marijuana in one of his pockets. Jeffrey Walker, 32, was arrested for felony criminal mischief.
Subway grab There was a forcible-touching incident inside the 34th St.-Herald Square subway station on Thurs., May 23, police said. That day, around 4:55 p.m., a man approached a 40-year-old woman on a Downtown N train, and grabbed her buttocks and back. The victim fled the train at the 14th St.-Union Square station while the pervy perp stayed onboard. Police released surveillance images of the suspect, described as bearded, with a tattoo on his left wrist, and last seen wearing a red shirt and red baseball hat. Gabe Herman and Lincoln Anderson
