HATE CRIMES: UPDATE | Yasmin Seweid, the 18-year-old Muslim teen who claimed to be the victim of a bias attack earlier this month, has been arrested for fabricating that story. When Chelsea Now initially reported on the incident, it was believed that three drunken men harassed her on a 6 train by calling her a “terrorist,” shouting the name of President-elect Donald Trump, and attempting to pull off her hijab. The NYPD were informed of the incident and began a search for suspects; shortly thereafter Seweid was reported missing. After a few days, the truth came out: She had run off to her sister’s residence, and had lied about the hate incident in order to avoid getting in trouble with her family for missing curfew on the night in question. Seweid was arrested on charges related to the hoax.
TIMES SQUARE STABBING | Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (234 W. 42nd St., btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.) was the site of a violent stabbing incident in the early morning hours of Sun., Dec. 18, which left two victims injured. At around 2:15am, the pair got into an argument with their attacker during a drug deal, after he thought they were making advances on his girlfriend (also present). The assailant, 23-year-old Pedro Nieves Diaz, pulled a knife out during the fight, and stabbed one man in the chest and the other in the arm. Diaz was arrested on Monday night, on charges including attempted murder; his girlfriend, 19-year-old Ashley Arcuri, was arrested on drug possession charges. The two victims were hospitalized, but are now in stable condition.
PETIT LARCENY: Perfume genius | Authorities might want to literally follow their noses to catch this criminal, as they presumably have a Pigpen-esque cloud of perfume wafting off of their person. That’s because, on Sun., Dec. 11, the unknown suspect strolled into a Duane Reade (131 Eighth Ave., btw. W. 16th & W. 17th Sts.) at about 9:25am and lifted $670 dollars worth of fragrances. It is unknown whether the incident — where 14 units of scents from various brands, including Gucci, Polo, Marc Jacobs, Versace, and Dolce and Gabbana were taken — was captured on security video or not.
PETIT LARCENY: Dirty deed, clean laundry | Apparently one crook didn’t realize they should be taking people to the cleaners, not taking stuff from the cleaners. On Wed., Dec. 14, the unknown female perp entered All Purpose Laundromat (204 Eighth Ave., btw. W. 20th & W. 21st Sts.) a little before 3pm, and, for reasons unknown, took a whole bag of laundry and left the premises. The crime was reported by the 48-year-old employee who was separating laundry at the location, but briefly turned her back to her work at the time of the theft. Though the value of the clothing is unknown, the bag contained approximately 26 articles of clothing, including leggings, tops, jeans, socks, and undergarments.
IDENTITY THEFT: Fios fraud | Gone are the halcyon days where stealing cable simply meant surreptitiously tapping into your neighbor’s line — apparently it now requires some serious digital fraud. As reported to police on Fri., Dec. 16, a 28-year-old W. 42nd St. resident was surprised to learn that someone had opened up a Verizon account in his name, in order to enjoy Internet service and cable TV. The unsuspecting stooge only recently found out about the identity theft when agencies started getting in contact with him to collect payment for the ill-gotten services. The victim of the incident claims he has no idea who the perp could possibly.
LOST PROPERTY, UNCLASSIFIED: Bag grab | On Sat., Dec. 17 a 20-year-old visitor from London left a party at Black Bar (85 10th Ave.) empty handed — after bringing oodles of pricey goodies with him. The man reported that he left his bag in the private area designated for guests to drop off belongings at about 11pm, but couldn’t find it when he returned to retrieve it two hours later. The bag (valued at $150) contained a $250 wallet, a $250 camera, $180 headphones, $200 cash, and, most significantly, a $2,450 necklace.
—SEAN EGAN
THE 10th PRECINCT: Located at 230 W. 20th St. (btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.). Commander: Capt. Paul Lanot. Main number: 212-741-8211. Community Affairs: 212-741-8226. Crime Prevention: 212-741-8226. Domestic Violence: 212-741-8216. Youth Officer: 212-741-8211. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-924-3377. Detective Squad: 212-741-8245. The Community Council meets on the last Wed. of the month, 7pm, at the 10th Precinct or other locations to be announced.
MIDTOWN SOUTH PRECINCT: Located at 357 W. 35th St. (btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). Inspector: Russel J. Green. Call 212-239-9811. Community Affairs: 212-239-9846. Crime Prevention: 212-239-9846. Domestic Violence: 212-239-9863. Youth Officer: 212-239-9817. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-239-9836. Detective Squad: 212-239-9856. The Community Council meets on the third Thurs. of the month, 7pm, at the New Yorker Hotel (481 Eighth Ave., btw. W. 34th & W. 35th St.). Visit midtownsouthcc.org.
THE 13th PRECINCT: Located at 230 E. 21st St. (btw. Second & Third Aves.). Deputy Inspector: Brendan Timoney. Call 212-477-7411. Community Affairs: 212-477-7427. Crime Prevention: 212-477-7427. Domestic Violence: 212-477-3863. Youth Officer: 212-477-7411. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-477-4380. Detective Squad: 212-477-7444. The Community Council meets on the third Tues. of the month, 6:30pm, at the 13th Precinct.
CASH FOR GUNS | $100 cash will be given (no questions asked) for each handgun, assault weapon or sawed-off shotgun, up to a maximum payment of $300. Guns are accepted at any Police Precinct, PSA or Transit District.
