Church and Murray St., site of a fatal accident Sunday. The taxi in the photo was not involved in the crash.
Cabbie dies after accident
A taxi driver went into cardiac arrest and rammed into a city tour bus in Tribeca Sunday before dying, police say.
Harry Laventure, 68 and from Brooklyn, was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The accident happened at around 11 a.m. at Church and Murray Sts on April 19. No one on the bus was injured, police say.
Man found dead in the river
Police found a man, 23, dead and floating in the Hudson River at Battery Park on Sun., Apr. 19 at 1:45 p.m.
The man was fully clothed when the police’s harbor unit pulled him out near 1 South St., where he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have identified the man as Steven Michael Walker, who was living in the Bronx. The investigation is ongoing.
Pickpocket double team
A female team of thieves distracted and then pickpocketed a woman while she was shopping in the Financial District on Thurs., Apr. 16 at 2 p.m., police say.
The woman, 59, was at the 9 to 5 Fashion Outlet at 76 Nassau St. when one of the team approached her and asked, ”Do you like this?” While she was contemplating the question, the other member of the team bumped into her, reached into her right front pocket and snatched her wallet that had $220, police say.
iPhone app helps cops nab suspect
Police busted a woman who stole a $6,000 red Chanel bag — thanks to the “Find My iPhone” app.
A woman, 28, was meeting up with a friend, 31 and from Philadelphia, at the Hilton Millenium Hotel at 55 Church St. across from the World Trade Center on Sat., Apr. 18 at 9 p.m. when the pricey purse was snatched with credit cards and an $800 iPhone inside, police say. The friend from Philly noticed a woman near the purse before it was taken.
The police used the app to locate the phone, which lead them to 626 Broadway, where they say the suspect was there with the Chanel purse in her shopping bag. The police recovered the property, valued at $6,800, and arrested the Brooklyn woman, 54.
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 — her relationship to the girl is not clear — was threatening the child with a bottle when police say she turned her attention to the witness, 32. 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.
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.
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.
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.
— DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC
