Woman found dead on subway tracks
A woman was found dead on the tracks of a Canal St. subway station on Sunday afternoon, police said.
The body was spotted by a passerby at about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 7. Police could not immediately tell whether she had been hit by a train. The woman was identified as 22-year-old Emily Singleton, an acting student who lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Singleton had reportedly had a night on the town on Saturday night and was dressed in black leather pants and heels. She fell onto the tracks sometime late on Saturday night, but it is not clear if she hit her head or was subsequently killed by a train. She was not discovered until about 12 hours later.
A source told CBS Local that Singleton had been approached by a woman Saturday night who tried to help an intoxicated Singleton off the train and was holding her purse, but as Singleton got back on the train and the doors closed, the woman ended up with the purse, which she then gave to a friend of the victim’s who had called the lost phone.
Pocket-cutter caught
The Transit Police arrested a man on Sunday after he was spotted taking a razor blade to a sleeping passenger’s jeans. Anthony McDowell, 48, was arrested at about 3:10 a.m. on Sun., April 7 when an officer observed him cutting open a man’s jeans while he was asleep on the E train. McDowell reached into the pocket and took out cash and a MetroCard.
The defendant was apprehended by an officer who recovered the stolen property from the man’s pocket. The victim, 51, was awoken and $3 in cash and his card were returned to him. The razor blade was recovered from the track bed.
Diabetes supplies stolen
Two men stole 19 packages of expensive diabetes test strips from a John St. pharmacy on Sunday morning.
At 9:25 a.m. on April 7, two men in black baseball caps entered the Duane Reade at 17 John St. in the Financial District said an employee. They used a key to open the plexiglass shelf and remove various types off test strips, totaling $2,748. The lockable shelves can be accessed by all Duane Reade managers with a key. The duo then fled the location. Video of the incident was available, but no arrests have been made.
Apple of thieves’ eyes
Leaving property unattended offers opportunities to anyone on the lookout for an easy mark, as three women found out this week.
One woman’s iPad was whisked off her table faster than the busboy at closing time. The victim, 32, told police that she had been at Haru Sushi at about 10 p.m. on Fri., April 5. She had left her $700 iPad on the table in the 1 Wall St. restaurant when she went to pay her bill. Upon her return, she discovered that it was missing. She said she had also kept a credit card in the case. No charges were made to the card and the device was turned off and unable to be tracked. She said no video was available at the scene.
The next day, an employee of Badichi Customized Belts at 367 West Broadway reported to police that her Apple iPhone was stolen off the store’s countertop between 3:30 and 4:15 p.m. on Sat., April 6. She said she had placed the $600 phone on the counter, plugged into an outlet to charge and that someone had removed it while she was working. Her debit card and New York State learner’s permit was also in the phone’s case. She cancelled her cell phone service and no unauthorized use was reported. Her phone was not equipped with G.P.S. software.
Another woman reported that she had set her bag down in a nearby chair for only 15 minutes, but it was more than enough time for someone else to pick it up.
The 31-year-old said that she had left her purse while socializing at Felix Restaurant and Bar at 340 Broadway on Sun., April 7. Sometime between 2:30 and 2:45 a.m., the bag was stolen. A police canvass was negative. Her cell phone was traced to the area of 80 Varick St. but was not recovered. No credit card usage was reported. On top of her white iPhone 5 ($700) and Marc Jacobs bag ($400), she also lost her ID, cards, keys and a U.K. Driver’s license.
