Beaten and robbed, but saved
Police arrested 19-year-old Ramel Robinson and 18-year-old Avery White for assault and robbery after they attacked a man walking down Dutch Street, between Fulton and John Streets, at 5 a.m. on Sun., Aug. 12. A 1st Precinct officer saw Robinson punching his victim, a 21-year-old man, in the face while demanding his cell phone and wallet. White assisted in the beating as the man continued to struggle. Both perpetrators were quickly apprehended when attempting to flee the scene. The victim was not seriously injured.
Jostled out of a phone
A visitor from Long Island was walking past the crowded corner of Church and Canal Streets on Sat., Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. when was he given especially rough treatment by a stranger. The man, 18, told police the perpetrator — whom he could only describe as a bald-headed, black male — quickly jostled him and walked away. Only afterwards did he realize that, in the midst of the awkward contact, the unkind local had plucked his iPhone from his back pocket.
Subway thefts
A 24-year-old man told police that, while riding the N train on Sun., Aug. 12 at around 2:30 a.m., another rider struck up a friendly conversation with him. But after they both got off at the Cortlandt Street station, the stranger — described later as a black male, approximately 5’8’’ tall and 150 lbs. — snatched the unsuspecting man’s iPhone out of his hand and fled. Police later tracked the phone, valued at $500, to Himrod Street in Brooklyn, but neither the phone nor the thief was found after a canvass of the area.
Another man, 39, woke up without his wallet after falling asleep on the E train at around 1 a.m. on Thurs., Aug. 9. When he was jolted into consciousness by the train’s stop at the World Trade Center station, the man realized that the jacket pocket he’d been holding the wallet in was empty. Two witnesses informed him that they had seen someone touch the jacket before exiting the train. The victim immediately cancelled all his credit cards, but that offered him little consolation when he realized he lost both his wallet — a Louis Vuitton valued at $1,000 — and $300 in cash. The two witnesses described the perpetrator as a black male in his early 20s, slim and approximately 5’2’’.
Later that morning on Aug. 9, a 23-year-old woman had her purse picked while riding the N train down from Queens to Lower Manhattan at around 9 a.m. When she got off at the Canal Street station, the woman noticed that her Italian leather wallet, valued at $100, was missing. The wallet also held two credit cards, a $30 Barnes & Noble gift card, her library card, her college ID and $100 in cash. Unfortunately for the bookish woman, $150 purchases were made on both credit cards, at unknown locations, before they could be cancelled.
Last but certainly not least, a 32-year-old man finally learned to quit showing off his computer on the subway. On Wed., Aug. 8 at around 5 a.m., the man was waiting for a Brooklyn-bound J train at the Fulton Street station, passing the time by typing on his laptop, when he noticed another person — whom he later described to police as a black male in his 20s, approximately 5’1’’ tall and 150 lbs. — making noise by banging a drum stick against the platform. He tried to ignore the nuisance and went back to typing, paying the price when the stick-wielding stranger walked over, grabbed his laptop and sprinted out of the station. The victim thought about giving chase but realized it would be smarter to protect his other belongings than go after the computer, valued at $300.
Worked over while working out
A 43-year-old man told police that his wallet was stolen while he was exercising in the New York Sports Club at 30 Wall St. on Wed., Aug. 8 at around noon. When he returned to his gym locker, the man realized that it had been picked clean, lock and all. The stolen goods also included a messenger bag, valued at $150, and a purple Ermenegildo Zegna tie, valued at $200.
On the same day about a half hour later, another man, 45, found his locker cleaned out at the New York Sports Club, at 160 Water St. The man also returned from his workout to find his lock gone, along with the contents of his wallet, his $360 Android and his pants.
High-profile heist
Police are on the hunt for a man who robbed more than $150,000 from the NYC Check Express check-cashing business at 200 Water St. on Tues., Aug. 7. The perpetrator, who was sporting a ski mask and large sunglasses, walked through the door at around 8 a.m. while two female employees were opening up shop and announced the robbery by brandishing a semiautomatic handgun. According to the cops, after forcing one of the employees to disable the building’s alarm system, he handcuffed the other to keep her out of the picture. He then forced the first employee to open the safe behind the counter and followed by handcuffing her as well. With both women subdued, the robber had time to stuff all of the safe’s cash into his backpack before running away.
Police are attempting to use footage from any surrounding outdoor cameras in their search for the man, since there was no video footage available inside the building. The NYC Check Express employees described the bandit as a black male approximately 5’6’’ tall.
Not worth the photo-op
A 21-year-old tourist told police that, while walking on Tues., Aug. 7 at around 1:30 p.m., she stopped at the corner of Whitehall and Bridge Streets because she wanted to take a photograph. The problem was, the woman sat her bag down behind her while sizing up the shot — and when she turned around to pick it up, it was gone. The stolen goods included her Olympus camera, valued at $250, and her MacBook Air, valued at $1,000. Since she was only in town for another two days, the woman apparently decided to cut her losses and skip a visit to the 1st Precinct to answer additional questions about the incident.
–By Sam Spokony
