10TH PRECINCT
Woman, 75, dead in river
Police found Elizabeth Wallace, 75, floating facedown in the Hudson River off of W. 24th St. last Friday.
The woman, who police said lived on W. 30th St. between Eighth and Ninth Aves., was spotted by a bystander, who alerted Parks Officer Christine Soto, according to police.
Police responded to a 911 call just before 11 a.m. on Jan. 4.
They found the woman unconscious near Pier 62 in the river.
The Police Department’s Harbor Unit pulled the woman from the water, and E.M.S. medics declared her dead at the scene.
The Medical Examiner’s office is investigating the cause of death.
Nicotine nickers
Police said that on Mon., Dec. 31, at 3:25 p.m., two men tried to rob the 7-Eleven at 246 W. 23rd St.
The pair of perps entered the place and approached the 24-year-old female store employee. They reportedly produced a can of apparent pepper spray and demanded cash from the register.
One of the crooks then went behind the counter and removed cash and two Juul electronic smoking devices. However, when they fled, they didn’t take the cash, just the Juul gear.
No pepper spray was expended, and there were no injuries, police said. The nicotine-loving ne’er-do-wells fled on foot westbound on W. 23rd St.
The first suspect is described as white or white Hispanic of unknown age. The second is described as black, also of unknown age.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS, or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted on the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, on Twitter at @NYPDTips or by texting to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.
Meat-jacking District
A man allegedly lowered his pants and masturbated in front of a 21-year-old woman around 4:40 a.m. on New Year’s Day, according to police. The woman was standing on the northeast corner of Ninth Ave. and W. 15th St. when the stranger exposed himself. The case is closed and no arrests were made, but police reported the case to the Special Victims Unit.
Lyft loser
A Lyft driver allegedly dragged a woman, 42, from the back of his car, then fled on Thurs., Jan. 3, around 7:30 p.m. The woman told police she was arguing with the guy about his crummy driving after a trip to the Apple Store. When the two were in front of her home at 401 W. 19th St., the driver allegedly grabbed her arm and hair and pulled her out of the Lyft, saying, “Get out. Get out of my cab,” according to police. The driver fled westbound on W. 14th St. in a black 2015 Toyota Camry, New York State license plate T659452C. The woman was not injured.
School gang graffiti
Police said a slashing that happened back in November could possibly be related to additional graffiti found at the Bayard Rustin Educational Campus.
Around 10 a.m. Fri., Jan. 4, a school safety officer reported that three graffiti scrawls found in the stairway that said, “die Sammy,” “wammy” and “fish gang,” were similar to additional graffiti that was found the day before.
A slashing that occurred on Nov. 29 of last year between two groups, L.A. World Crew and Sammy World Crew, could be related to the gang graffiti at the high school on W. 18th St. between Eighth and Ninth Aves., police said.
Deli knives
Police arrested Shameik Smallwood, 31, for allegedly threatening to kill a 35-year-old man with two 8-inch-long knives on Sun., Jan. 6, around 2 p.m.
Police said Smallwood was blocking the entrance of a deli at 215 Eighth Ave., and when the man asked Smallwood to move, the latter pulled out the two knives, saying, “I’ll kill you,” according to a report. The knife-wielder fled into Joe’s Pizza next door, where police arrested him.
Chokes girlfriend
Xianqi Zeng, 24, strangled his 35-year-old girlfriend after they got into a verbal argument on Sat., Jan. 5, around 7:40 p.m., police said.
Zeng reportedly put his hands around the woman’s neck, causing her to experience difficulty breathing, plus pain and redness on her neck, inside her apartment at 450 W. 42nd St.
— Sydney Pereira
and Lincoln Anderson
