Panhandler slams victim
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
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 Downtown 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 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.
House burglar nets 18 grand
After a long day of work, a 39-year-old woman returned at around 8:45 p.m. to her apartment in Soho and found it ransacked — a thief getting away with $18,299 in jewelry and electronics, police say.
An open window, which leads to the fire escape, was too tempting for a thief, who used it to gain access to the apartment on Prince St. near MacDougal St. on Fri., Aug. 21 sometime during the day. The suspect snatched up pricey jewelry, including a $700 Tiffany necklace, a Longines watch worth $2,500, a $3,000 heirloom necklace, a $2,000 Tiffany wedding ring and a $7,500 Tiffany engagement ring. A $2,500 MacBook and $99 Apple TV were also stolen.
Muggers take victim’s sneakers
Two suspects assaulted and robbed a man in the Seaport last weekend — even taking the Air Jordan sneakers he was wearing.
The 23-year-old from Staten Island was walking on Peck Slip toward Front St. at 3:30 a.m. on Sun., Aug. 23, police say, when one of the men approached him and said, “Hey! Hey!” The victim was distracted. The suspect’s accomplice then grabbed the victim from behind while the other man punched him in the face, causing cuts to the victim’s right check.
Police say the two men then stole around $500, the victim’s chain and shoes as well as his iPhone 6.
Mon Dieu — wallet snatched
A French tourist’s wallet was stolen at a Financial District Starbucks, but the victim didn’t realize until she went to buy a MetroCard, police say.
The woman, 44, had her wallet stolen at the Starbucks at 195 Broadway on Fri., Aug. 21. She then went to the Rector St. (1) station at 4 p.m., when she discovered her $60 wallet with various credit cards, and an unspecified number of Euros and French passport was gone. She told police that unauthorized charges on her credit cards had been made.
Missing MacBooks case
The scene of the crime: an office at 69 Walker St. in Tribeca. On Fri., Aug. 21, two MacBooks, worth $3,922, are on a desk in the offices of Monthly Gift when the employees leave for the weekend. On Mon., Aug. 24, when a female employee, 29, returns to work, the laptops are gone.
She told police that while the office was not locked, the entrance is and a key card needs to be swiped to get inside. Several employees have key card access. Police say there was no forcible entry and the windows were locked. Police are planning to check out the key card scanner, which records card swipes.
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.
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
