E.V. bodega bandit bagged
A suspect responsible for a recent rash of robberies of East Village delis and bodegas has been collared, according to police.
Cops finally caught up with the gaunt suspect, whom they identified as Kenneth Nottage, 47, of 347 E. 18th St. He was charged with four counts of robbery, pertaining to the third, seventh, ninth and twelfth heists in his eight-day one-man crime wave.
According to police, Nottage usually displayed a knife or simulated a firearm when he hit the stores, demanded money, removed cash from the register, then fled on foot.
Following his seventh attempted job, a failed robbery at East Village Fruit and Vegetable, 229 Avenue B, on Tues., April 7, at 1:45 a.m., in which he failed to score any cash, Nottage may have felt the East Village was starting to get too hot for him. So, he set his sights farther Uptown.
He went on to stick up four more stores, stealing $200 from Irish Green Cleaners, at 226 E. 53rd St., on April 8; and $190 from Crumbs Bake Shop, at 775 Columbus Ave., on April 9; plus an undisclosed amount of money from a Subway sandwich store, at 301 Cathedral Parkway North, also on April 9.
But his downfall may have been going near donuts. He did two more robberies, at separate Dunkin Donuts shops on April 10, at 1630 Madison Ave. and 2103 Eighth Ave., making away with $294 and $100, respectively. But it proved to be the end of the line for Nottage. Police soon closed in and arrested him.
Armed man accosts her
On Tues., April 7, at 10:45 p.m., a man followed a 24-year-old woman into an elevator at 78 Fifth Ave., between W. 13th and 14th Sts., police said.
Once inside the elevator, the suspect brandished a firearm and demanded that the woman lead him to her apartment, where he would take her cash. But she told him she did not live there, and the suspect then demanded that she follow him to an ATM, where she would remove money for him.
As they exited the building, the suspect held the victim’s hand while hailing a taxi. As the cab pulled to the curb, the victim broke free from the suspect’s grasp and fled to a nearby store. The suspect fled the location empty-handed.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting them to 274637(CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
Former Pastis site fatality
On Mon., April 6, at around 12:14 p.m., police responded to a 911 call of an aided male at 9-19 Ninth Ave., between Little W. 12th and 13th Sts., in the Meatpacking District.
Upon arrival, officers discovered a 22-year-old male unconscious and unresponsive. E.M.S. was on scene and transported the male to Lenox Hill Hospital in critical condition where he was pronounced dead. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing.
The New York Post reported that, according to police, the man was a construction worker who was killed when he was trapped by an avalanche of dirt at the site, the former location of Pastis restaurant. He had been shoring up a wall at the location when unstable soil gave way and he was buried, according to sources, the newspaper reported.
Councilmember Corey Johnson said, “I am saddened and angered to hear of a worker’s death at the construction site located at 19 Ninth Ave. in my district. Preliminary reports indicate multiple safety violations on the work site. This loss of life reinforces the need for even stronger workplace protections and safety procedures. The safety of the public depends on it. I thank city authorities, including the N.Y.P.D., F.D.N.Y., E.M.S. and Department of Buildings, for their response to this terrible event.”
Restoration Furniture has reportedly signed a 15-year $250 million lease for the full property, which is being reconstructed and vertically expanded. A partial stop-work order is currently in effect.
Sharp showdown
Police said two men clashed with a machete versus a big knife in front of 80 University Place on Fri., April 10, around 2 p.m.
Two witnesses said that a man wielding a machete cut another man brandishing a butcher knife on the shoulder and forearm. The police report stated the incident was also caught on video.
Esmeling Baez, 20, who allegedly had the butcher knife, was charged with misdemeanor menacing. Felix Leonardo Martinez, 33, the man with the machete, was charged with felony assault. A Sixth Precinct officer could not immediately say what prompted the fight.
Gunshots on Avenue D
On Mon., April 6, at 2 p.m., police said, Frank Maldonado, 16, exited 178 Avenue D, brandished a gun and fired several shots at a group of people. No one was struck by the gunfire and the suspect fled the location.
Police did not say what prompted the shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting them to 274637(CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
Wheels of fury
A driver, 24, allegedly hit another man, 53, with his car near the northwest corner of W. Eighth St. and Sixth Ave. on Mon., April 6, around 6:20 p.m. after the two argued.
According to police, the older man got in front of the younger man’s car in order to photograph him. But once the light turned green, the driver reportedly hit the gas and took off, striking his adversary.
Two witnesses pursued the driver for six blocks, then caught up to him and held him at the corner of Sixth Ave. and W. 13th St. until police arrived and arrested him. Yusofjon Tuychiev was charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run.
Photo rage, Part II
A man did not take kindly to being photographed in front of 19 University Place on Thurs., April 9. He allegedly approached a 51-year-old man just before 2 p.m., requesting that he desist and delete the photos already taken. The photographer refused.
Police said Correy Holder, 25, then allegedly put the man in a headlock. Holder was subsequently arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault.
— Zach Williams and Lincoln Anderson
