First Precinct
Tragic vlogger
Police responding to a 911 call of a victim floating in the East River, pulled the lifeless body of a despondent YouTube star from the water Mon., June 24, around 6:18 p.m., near South St. Seaport, according to authorities.
Harbor Unit police removed the victim to Pier 16, where E.M.S. medics pronounced him dead.
He was identified as Desmond Amofah, 29, of Willougby St., Brooklyn, also known as Etika.
According to news reports, Amofah’s napsack and phone were recoved on the Manhattan Bridge, and, before his death, he had posted suicidal thoughts about the “walls closing in” quickly on him. CNN reported he had 130,000 followers on YouTube and specialized in “vlogging” about video games.
Subway slash
A man told police that he left work on June 16, and was entering the Canal St. subway station at the northwest corner of Varick and Canal Sts., around 8:15 p.m., when he was kicked down the subway steps, causing a laceration on his left arm.
The victim then ran up the stairs to confront the perpetrator, who then slashed the victim on the left side of his face with a box cutter, cops said. The victim’s report was confirmed by a canvass of surveillance video.
The victim refused medical attention at the scene. Both the victim and the perpetrator were identified as Asian/Pacific Islander.
Package perp
Police said surveillance video showed that on June 19, at 1:23 p.m., a male perp broke into an apartment building at 529 Broome St. with a crowbar, then proceeded to open nine packages and remove property from seven of them. He appeared to be working in concert with another man who was outside the building. The burglar then fled east on Broome St. A police canvass of area was negative.
Subway sleep
After a night out drinking with his friends, a man fell asleep at the subway station at Exchange Place and Broad St. on June 19 around 1 a.m., police said. He was awakened at 5:30 a.m. by an unknown man telling him he had to leave the station. Upon leaving, the victim realized his backpack and phone were gone. His electronics’ value was more then $2,000. He went home and tracked his phone to Bedford Ave., in Williamsburg, but it was quickly turned off.
E-bike takeout
On June 19, at 3 p.m., a man was eating at Ben’s Pizza in Soho, at 177 Spring St., while his $4,500 electric bike was parked, but unchained, outside. The victim went to the bathroom but when he came back, his e-bike had been removed, according to police. Video footage was available, according to the police report. Police did not say if the victim was a pizzeria employee.
Hermes
At 3:30 p.m. on Wed., June 19, at the Hermes boutique at at 15 Broad St., a woman took a $1,050 belt from a display and left the store, concealing it under a bag she was carrying, according to police.
Sixth Precinct
Ice cream haul
A total of $1,237 worth of Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream was stolen from the CVS store at 360 Sixth Ave., at Washington Place, on Sat., June 15, at 10 a.m., police said. A canvass for the two perps was conducted with negative results.
Balaboosta
An employee at Balaboosta, at 611 Hudson St., at W. 12th St., put her bag on a hook in the employee area, and when she returned to the spot, the bag was gone, according to police. Security cameras at the Middle Eastern eatery confirmed this. Items stolen included a credit card, clothing, perfume, medicine and makeup amounting to $270. Police said the perpetrator is an employee of another company that delivers meat to the restaurant. An arrest was made.
Seventh Precinct
East River body
Police responding to a 911 call of a man in the East River near Pier 36 and South St. on Thurs., June 20, around 7:15 p.m., found an adult male unconscious and unresponsive in the water. He was removed from the water and E.M.S. medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Not a lot of information was immediately available about the man, whom a police spokesperson said was still unidentified at this time. What is known was that he was a male Asian, in his 30s, she said.
The body was “decomposing,” the spokesperson said, not providing further specifics.
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing.
Ninth Precinct
Bike burglar
Police said that on Sat., June 8, around 12:30 a.m., at a residential building in the vicinity of E. Sixth St. and Second Ave., a man forced open the place’s rear exterior door to gain entry into the rear courtyard. Once inside, he removed a 33-year-old man’s bicycle.
The suspect is described as a light-complexioned male, last seen wearing a dark-colored baseball cap, a black hooded sweater, black pants and light-colored shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s 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 or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and tips are strictly confidential.
Lincoln Anderson
and Villager staff
