Panhandler slams victim to the ground
A 59-year-old man was viciously attacked after he refused to give money to a panhandler in the Financial District, police say.
The man, who lives in Queens, was walking to the train on Fri., Aug. 14 when the panhandler approached him a little after 3 p.m. near West Broadway and Park Place, according to police. He ignored the panhandler, who then proceeded to pick up the victim and slam him on the ground, police say. The victim suffered cuts to his face, elbow, ankle and wrist.
The man then handed over $100 and some foreign currency to the mugger, 45. But the panhandler wasn’t finished — he took the victim’s glasses and broke them before fleeing the scene, police say. While conducting a canvass of the area, police caught and arrested the suspect and recovered the victim’s money.
This is the second recent panhandler attack in the Financial District. In a separate incident in July, another man was punched after he didn’t give money to a panhandler.
Teen gang mugs in FiDi & Brooklyn
A gang of teenagers attacked and mugged a man on his way to work at 4:45 a.m. on Wed., Aug. 5 in the Financial District and then did the same thing in Brooklyn an hour later, police say.
In the first incident at 33 Gold St., the five men — described as around 16 to 18 years of age — surrounded a man, 41, then punched him in the face and robbed him. They stole his $50 watch, $60, ID, yellow cab license and several credit and debit cards, police say. They then fled south on Gold St.
Police say at around 5:40 a.m. at the Borough Hall 2,3,4,5,R train station, the same modus operandi was used — the teens surrounded a man, 32, assaulted him and then snatched his cell phone and wallet.
Neither victim received medical attention, according to police.
Man found dead in East River
A man was found floating in the East River, near the vicinity of Wall and South Sts. in the Financial District, according to police.
The N.Y.P.D.’s Harbor Unit responded to a 911 call on Tues., Aug. 18 at around 7:40 a.m. They brought the man, who has yet to be identified, out of the water and took him to nearby Pier 15 where he was pronounced dead.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
Dandy thief caught
A thief with excellent taste was caught and arrested after stealing over $16,000 worth of duds from a high-end men’s clothing store in Soho, police say
Sometime during the night on Sun., Aug. 16, the suspect, 36, entered Marcella at 32 Grand St. He snatched 39 dress shirts, 21 pairs of socks, 10 ties, including bow ties, 11 dress pants, seven custom suits and 19 suit blazers.
When the police searched the area, the suspect was found and then arrested near the corner of Thompson and Spring Sts. All of the clothing was recovered. The suspect was charged with third degree burglary, a felony, and is being held on $10,000 cash/$25,000 bond, according to the New York State Unified Court system.
Two break-ins, one day
Police say they are looking for two men who hit two restaurants on the same day last month.
The first incident took place during the early morning hours at Dahlia’s, a Mexican restaurant at 353 Greenwich St. in Tribeca, on Fri., July 17. The thieves got away with over $10,000 and three expensive bottles of liquor, police say.
Not so long after, police say the thieves then went to Lilly O’Brien’s at 18 Murray St. near City Hall around 5 a.m. and stole $300.
Burglar prepares for the jungle
A thief got away with almost $3,000 worth of pricey travel gear — most with a camouflage pattern on it — from a Tumi store in Soho, police say.
The suspect waited until the luggage shop at 102 Prince St. had closed at 7 p.m. on Tues., Aug. 11 to grab several bags, a wallet and laptop sleeves. The police responded to an alarm that went off at around 9:20 p.m. The officer found the front display window unlocked with no damage. A female employee, 25, told police that the store manager had locked the store up for the night.
The purple-haired pickpocket
A Long Island woman enjoying coffee and conversation at a Soho bar noticed the patron next to her had purple-tipped long black hair — but not that she might have stolen her wallet.
The woman, 66, was having coffee with a friend at Fanelli Cafe at 94 Prince St. at 3 p.m. on Wed., Aug. 5, police say. When she got up to pay, she realized that her credit card, debit card and $50 from her wallet were gone. The woman had her purse on the back on her chair the whole time while at the cafe.
She told police that a woman — whom she described as around 20, 5’7” and 130 pounds — had sat at the table next to her and ordered fries. Fifteen minutes later, the woman cancelled her order and took off, the victim told police.
Whoever stole the stuff, took one of the cards and hopped over to the Victoria’s Secret and then the Apple store in Soho and made $765 worth of purchases.
— DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC
