Huge jewelry heist
Police are still searching for two men who on Dec. 14 stole more than $90,000 worth of merchandise from a Nassau St. jewelry store after holding an employee and his teenage daughter at gunpoint.
The two suspects walked into Omega Jewelry, at 132 Nassau St., around 4:30 p.m., after which one of them flashed a handgun at the 41-year-old worker, cops said. They then forced him and his 15-year-old daughter into the store’s back room, where the robbers methodically used plastic zip ties to bind their hands and feet and keep them immobilized.
While wearing gloves, the intruders then grabbed 45 diamond engagement rings, 30 pairs of earrings and 10 necklaces from behind the store’s display counters, after which they fled the scene, police said.
Cops canvassed the Downtown area multiple times that day, but came up empty in their hunt for the suspects. And while officials have recovered video surveillance footage that shows the crime taking place, both robbers remain unidentified.
Bar brawl in B.P.C.
Police arrested a 45-year-old man early on Dec. 14 after police say he smashed a glass bottle over another man’s head in a Battery Park City bar.
The victim, 33, told cops he got into an argument with the suspect around 2:30 a.m. while they were both sitting in Harry’s Italian Pizza Bar, at 225 Murray St., after which things quickly escalated. Police say the attacker first threw a wine glass at the victim, but missed. When the victim stood up to confront the aggressor, the suspect then bashed him with the bottle, police said.
The impact of the broken glass left the victim with a gash on his forehead, and he was later treated at Bellevue Hospital after the incident was reported to authorities. The other man fled the scene, but he was caught shortly afterwards when officers canvassed the area. He was charged with assault.
Holiday purchase fraud
Police arrested a 20-year-old man on Dec. 17 after they say he tried to make a fraudulent department store purchase and then punched a security guard.
Around 2:30 p.m., the suspect swiped a gift card in J&R Music World, at 15 Park Row, while buying a compute. But employees quickly realized that the card was forged, and alerted store security after denying the purchase police said.
When a 62-year-old guard approached and tried to detain the man, police say the accused socked the guard in the face and tried to run away. But he was stopped by other employees, and police quickly arrived on the scene to apprehend him.
The man was charged with assault, possession of a forged instrument and attempted petty larceny.
He’s no victim
A man was able to fight off an armed robber who targeted him on a Canal St. sidewalk early on Friday, Dec. 13, police said.
The man, 43, told cops he was walking past the corner of Canal and Greenwich Sts. around 2:30 a.m. when the unknown attacker snuck up from behind and whacked him on the back of the head with a BB gun. Although the impact left a cut, the man still had the presence of mind to quickly turn around, take the BB gun out of his attacker’s hand and push him away, police said.
Realizing that the jig was up, the thwarted attacker then begged the man not to take any further action, police said.
“I just wanted money, man,” the attacker said, according to the police report. “If you give me money I’ll leave you alone. Can you give me my gun back? Don’t hurt me, don’t kill me.”
Apparently taking pity, the man allowed his attacker to flee before reporting the incident to police. It’s unclear what happened to the BB gun. The police report stated that the gun was not recovered at the scene.
Bank-stalking mugging
An opportunistic thief targeted a woman moments after she withdrew cash from a bank near City Hall on Dec. 12, police said.
The woman, 33, told cops that she withdrew $1,430 in cash from the Bank of America at 261 Broadway around 4:30 p.m., and then left the branch, turned right and began walking south on Broadway.
As she was passing the intersection with Park Pl., the woman said an unknown man approached her from behind, put his arm around her and said, “Shut up and don’t scream.” He then forced her to cross to the opposite side of the street, away from the more crowded areas, while pressing an unidentified weapon against the side of her body, police said.
“Give me everything you took out of the bank,” the suspect told her, according to the police report, after which the woman handed over the envelope full of her newly withdrawn cash. The man forced her to continue walking south on Broadway until they reached Maiden Ln., and then fled the scene, police said.
Coat theft at the spa
A woman’s designer coat was snatched as she was getting her nails done on Dec. 13, police said.
The woman, 30, told cops she arrived at Affina Beauty & Spa, at 125 Church St., around 6 p.m., after which she placed her $2,000 Burberry coat on the salon’s rack. For the next 45 minutes, she was relaxing and enjoying a pedicure, but when she got up afterwards to put the coat back on, she realized it was gone.
The salon’s manager later told police that she saw a different woman — a blonde, approximately five-foot-seven — walk out with the flashy coat.
— SAM SPOKONY
