Ticket scam didn’t play
A 39-year-old man eager to attend a performance by The Decemberists fell victim to an online scam on April 2. The alleged perpetrator arranged to meet the mark that day in front of 175 Fifth Ave. at about 5 p.m. after the rock fan saw an offer for two tickets for $150 on Craigslist. But the next day, the victim saw the same offer on the Web site, leading him to believe that he had been duped, according to a police report.
Police said they found Theron Rhodes, 45, on April 3 and searched him upon arrest. He was in possession of duplicate copies of the tickets sold to the victim on April 2. Rhodes was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument.
70 grand Gans scam
Police arrested a former employee of the Gansevoort Hotel last week amid accusations that she had pocketed about $70,000 over the course of two years. Charysse Jonas, 31, allegedly used an ex-exployee’s personal information to deposit checks into Jonas’s personal bank account from January 2012 until November 2014, police say.
Law enforcement tracked Jonas down on April 1 and charged her with felony grand larceny. The money has not yet been returned to the Meatpacking District hotel, at 18 Ninth Ave., according to a police report.
E.V. bodega bandit
Police are asking for the public’s help in tracking down a man wanted in connection with seven recent armed robberies of East Village-area stores, including delis and a laundromat.
Police say the suspect, a gaunt white man in his 40s, enters the locations, either displays a knife or simulates a firearm, demands money, removes cash from the registers, and flees on foot.
On Thurs., April 2, at 3:25 a.m., the suspect struck at One’s Fruit and Grocery, at 315 First Ave., near E. 18th St., and stole $400, according to police.
On Sat., April 4, at 10:20 p.m., he reportedly hit the same store again, this time swiping $950.
Shifting his sights a few blocks farther downtown, on Sun., April 5, at 2:16 p.m., he robbed I.Q. Decor, at 242 E. 14th St., snagging $366.
He then made off with $600 on Mon., April 6, after striking at I Green Market, 271 First Ave., at 3 a.m.
In a fifth reported store robbery, at around 5:05 p.m., later that same day, he entered 66 Avenue A, and fled with $200.
In the third job he pulled on Mon., April 6, at 9:05 p.m., he cleaned out the New Up and Up Laundry, at 13 Avenue A, fleecing them of $250.
Finally, on Tues., April 7, at 1:45 a.m., he tried to find easy pickings at East Village Fruit and Vegetable, at 229 Avenue B, but fled without taking any cash, according to police. Police have released a photo and video of the suspect.
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.
Bank robbery bust
Police reported that they have made an arrest in a robbery in the Bank of America ATM, at 390 Sixth Ave., on March 30, in which the perpetrator allegedly displayed a silver blunt instrument and told the victim, a woman, 35, he would cut her unless she withdrew money for him. She gave him $400 and he fled without harming her.
On April 3, police arrested Melvin Johnson, a 49-year-old homeless man, and charged him with robbery in the third degree.
E.M.T. needs treatment
An emergency medical technician was transporting a patient to the LenoxHill HealthPlex, at Seventh Ave. and W. 12th St., on Sat., April 4, when the medic was attacked en route, requiring him to seek medical care there. Chase Dwyer, 21, kicked the 37-year-old E.M.T. at about 1:41 a.m. causing a bit of swelling, redness and pain, according to police.
A police report did not state possible motives for the attack nor where the ambulance picked up Dwyer, who was charged with felony assault.
Subway stairs shove
The steps to the F Train at the W. Fourth St. station were the scene of a Sun., April 5, attack that left a 22-year-old man with a bruised face and injured right wrist, police said.
Alphonso Hawkins, 60, allegedly shoved the victim down the stairs, and punched him to boot, at about 10:20 a.m., just 20 minutes after the victim had entered the subway system in Brooklyn. Just why Hawkins would do this was not mentioned in a police report. He was charged with misdemeanor assault.
Not too sharp
Helping a friend get on the subway cost one man more than $2.75 on Thurs., April 2. Police said they observed Trevor Colvil, 26, open an emergency exit to allow another person to enter the station at W. 14th St. and Sixth Ave. just before 11 p.m. that day.
A search of Colvil following his arrest led police to find a “spring-assisted gravity knife” in his possession. He reportedly told police that he carried the switchblade for his protection. This was at least the second time he was charged with felony criminal weapon possession, according to police.
Stealthy subway thief
A Staten Island straphanger was so deep in sleep that she missed her South Ferry stop and was only awakened when a thief took her bag. The suspect got away with $850 worth of stuff, police say.
The 25-year-old dozed off on the 1 train going to South Ferry at 3:30 a.m. on Fri., Apr. 3, police said. The train started going back uptown again when she felt a “lush worker” — police lingo for thieves that prey on people who are inebriated or asleep on trains — remove her bag from her arm. Inside the purse was a $150 Michael Kors wallet, a $300 gold iPhone, gold rings worth $60 and Alex and Ani bracelets worth $300.
After she woke up, she looked around the train to see if anyone had her bag, but saw no one. She exited the train at Houston St. in Soho and immediately called police to report the crime.
Herve Leger hit
High-end Herve Leger got hit by shoplifters twice in four days, police said.
The first incident at the shop at 409 Broadway in Soho was on Sat., Mar. 28, at noon when a man grabbed a Herve Leger dress, valued at $5,990, put it under his jacket and left.
Then on Tues., Mar. 31, at around 2 p.m., a man stole a dress, this time priced at $8,090, concealed it inside his jacket and left.
The same male employee, 42, reported the thefts. Police did not say if the incidents were connected nor was a description of the suspect released.
— Zach Williams, Dusica Sue Malesevic and Lincoln Anderson
