Child abuser attacks Samaritan, police say
On Sat., Apr. 11, a woman cursing and threatening at a young toddler on the A train at 9 a.m. attacked a woman who tried to intervene, police say.
The attacker — it is not clear her relationship to the girl — was threatening the child with a bottle when she turned her attention to the witness, 32, police say. When the train stopped at the Fulton St. station, the woman walked up to the witness and struck her on the right side of her head with the bottle. She then fled. The woman who was hit sustained swelling and pain but was not hospitalized.
Police are looking for a woman, who is anywhere from 20 to 35 and was last seen wearing a dark colored jacket, black pants, seen carrying bags on her left hand.
Pepper spray, muggers’ tool?
A man, 21, was on a downtown 1 train, when two men approached him, sprayed him in the face with an unknown substance, pushed him to the floor and grabbed his wallet, police say. They got away with $285 worth of stuff.
The man had gotten on the train at Christopher St. at 4:30 p.m. on Fri., Apr. 10. The attack happened not so long after, and the man got off at Chambers St. while the two thieves stayed on the train. Inside his $140 wallet was credit and debit cards, $145 and an unlimited MetroCard. He told police that he thought he saw the two men at the same deli as him before he boarded the train.
Smash and snatch
A Long Island couple had their shopping trip to the city ruined when a thief snatched the bags from the back seat of their parked car in Soho, police say.
The couple parked their 2011 black Audi in front of 84 Mercer St. on Sat., Apr. 11 at 10 p.m. When they came back to their car almost three hours later, the driver’s rear window was smashed and the bags — full of high-end clothing, sunglasses and makeup worth $1,850 — was gone. Police said the couple refused to wait for an evidence team or the detectives to arrive.
Bootlegger heist?
Perhaps it was someone with serious nicotine withdrawal or just a shoplifter with a lot of business savvy who grabbed $1,680 worth of cigarettes from a Duane Reade at 250 Broadway in the Civic Center, police say. The cases of cigarettes were taken from near the register at around 2:30 p.m. on Sun., Apr. 12, a male employee, 30, told police. Police did not say how he was able to get away with so many cases.
Danish dancer robbed
A Danish tourist or exchange student was enjoying dancing at the nightclub Haus at 285 W. Broadway in Tribeca — when someone stole her purse and got away with $683 worth of stuff, police say.
The woman, 26, was on the dance floor and decided to get a drink at the bar on Sat. Apr. 11 a little after midnight. When she left the bar, she realized her stuff was gone, which included a $200 iPhone, her Denmark driver’s license and credit cards and $160. She cancelled her cards, police say.
Gym woes
A Planet Fitness at 25 Broadway in the Financial District has had two recent thefts, police say.
The first incident took place on Wed., Apr. 8 at 2:30 p.m. when a woman, 21, who was exercising left her wallet on the floor and walked away for a few minutes. When she came back, the wallet was gone. The club’s cameras showed a man taking the wallet and going into the men’s locker room. A male employee found the wallet, which was missing $30, credit and debit cards and an unlimited MetroCard, when he was cleaning the locker room.
On Mon., Apr. 13, a Long Island man stored his belongings in a locker with a combination lock at 6 p.m. to go work out, police say. When the 44-year-old returned, the lock and his stuff were gone. Inside the locker was his $200 Samsung Galaxy smartphone, ID’s, credit and debit cards and a Long Island Rail Road card worth $243. The thief tried to make a $32 purchase, but the man had already cancelled his cards.
Thieves love plastic
A thief wasted no time after stealing a woman’s wallet, making a single purchase of $2,406 almost immediately, police say.
A Seaport resident was eating lunch at a Hale and Hearty at 55 Broad St. and left her bag on the chair behind her on Tues., Apr. 7 at 1 p.m., police say. When the 33-year-old went to Starbucks nearby, she discovered her wallet, which held her credit cards and $130, was gone, and soon discovered the large charge. Police did not release where the purchase was made.
Also, in the FiDi but in a separate incident, a tourist from Massachusetts was at Fika Espresso Bar at 66 Pearl St. on Fr., Apr. 10 at 10 a.m. when she realized that the strap to her handbag was in a different position then the way she left it. When she opened it, she realized that her wallet with her credit cards and $100 was gone, police say.
Once she made the discovery, she went to cancel her cards and was told that $500 in purchases was already made at Duane Reade and CVS, police say.
iPhone 6 pinched
On Sun. Apr. 12 at around 1 p.m., a Scottish tourist, 46, was chatting with friends on an uptown 1 train when she felt a pressure on her right side. When she went to check for her $600 iPhone 6, it was gone, police say. Police say that the theft took place at the Rector St. station.
‘Lush worker’ arrested
On Sat., Apr. 11 a police officer observed a man hovering over another passenger, who was asleep, on the E train at the last stop, the World Trade Center station, at 2 p.m. As the train began to move, the officer saw him use a cutting motion over the straphanger.
When the train was held at Canal St., the lush worker — a police term for thieves who look for those asleep or drunk on the train — grabbed the man’s backpack and took off. Police say the officer gave chase and in the pursuit, the man dropped the backpack and razor blades, which were probably used to cut the victim’s pocket. The Bronx man, 58, was eventually apprehended and arrested. The backpack, which had a $500 iPad and a black leather jacket, was recovered.
— DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC
