Bank robbery spree
Police are seeking an unidentified man who allegedly pulled off six different bank robberies over the past three months, including one on the Lower East Side and one near Union Square.
The suspect — described as a 25-year-old black male, around 5 foot 9 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds — began on Jan. 25, when he hit a Chase bank at 101 Barclay St. in Tribeca, police said. Then, on Feb. 22, he pulled back-to-back jobs, first at the Popular Community Bank at 134 Delancey St., and minutes later at a Capital One bank near the corner of E. 34th St. and Second Ave.
Each time, the suspect simply walked into the banks and demanded cash, the tellers complied and he fled with the loot, police said.
He struck again Feb. 28 at a Capital One bank on E. Fordham Road in the Bronx, according to cops. The suspect then tried for another doubleheader on March 8. But after making off with cash at a Chase bank at E. 14th St. and Fifth Ave., he came away empty-handed from a Citibank at E. 16th St. and Fifth Ave., after the teller rebuffed his demands. He struck again March 10, successfully, at a Flushing Savings Bank in Queens, police said.
On March 29, the suspect returned to the 134 Delancey St. bank around 1 p.m. But the teller refused to hand over cash, and the robber escaped again, police said.
No injuries were reported after any of the incidents, police said.
Is that punch organic?
Police arrested Higashida Yuki, 29, on April 3 for allegedly attacking a security guard after trying to shoplift from the Union Square Whole Foods Market.
The guard, 48, told cops he caught Higashida red-handed near the exit of the 40 E. 14th St. grocery store, around 8 a.m., confronted him and took back the goods. The alleged thief then tried to flee. When the guard tried to detain him, Higashida punched him in the face, giving him a nasty black eye, police said.
Higashida was held by other security guards until officers arrived minutes later to handcuff him. He was charged with robbery.
Butt-grabber busted
John Doe, 35, was arrested early April 3 after he grabbed a woman’s rear on a West Village sidewalk, police said.
The victim, 31, told cops she was talking to her boyfriend near the corner of Jane and West Sts., around 1:30 a.m., when Doe passed by and squeezed her rear end. The woman and her boyfriend together were able to detain the alleged perv while flagging down a police officer, who quickly apprehended him. Doe was charged with forcible touching.
Citi Bike snatch
Police arrested William Perry, 30, early on April 2 after they say he took a stolen Citi Bike for a joyride.
A patrolling officer said he stopped Perry around 4 a.m. after catching him riding on the sidewalk along Christoper St., between Hudson and Greenwich Sts. Checking its identifying information, the officer determined Perry hadn’t paid for the bike, which is valued at $1,200. He was charged with criminal possession of stolen property.
What’s in your wallet?
Darius Pettiford, 24, was arrested April 6 after being caught with stolen credit cards and a bag of alleged marijuana, police said.
A transit police officer said he stopped Pettiford around 9:45 p.m. because he was walking between an L train’s cars while it was in the Eighth Ave. station. After searching him, the officer found Pettiford was carrying a wallet containing the credit cards, as well as a state ID and college student ID, all under a different man’s name and already reported stolen, police said.
The officer also found the purported pot in Pettiford’s pants pocket. He was charged with criminal possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of marijuana.
— Sam Spokony
