SIDEWALK STICKUP A man and a woman were held up at gunpoint in Soho shortly before midnight on Saturday Jan. 16, police say. The victims, who live on the Upper East and West Sides, were walking to the subway around 11:30 p.m. when they were stopped by two men in front of 143 Prince St., according to police.
One of the men reportedly asked for the time and then pulled out a black firearm, demanding, “Give me your money.” His partner then grabbed the woman’s purse and searched her pockets, telling the victims: “Act cool…act normal.”
The muggers, both in their 30s and around 5-foot-6, fled south on West Broadway and made off with $70 in cash, an iPhone 6, keys and various credit cards, the victims told police. The woman’s phone couldn’t be tracked and a search of the area turned up no results, but police are hoping a video from the art gallery next door might shed some light on the robbery.
LOCKER SHOCKER A man stepped out of the shower at an Equinox gym in the Financial District on Wednesday Jan. 20, to find his bag had been stolen out of his locker, according to police.
The victim was working out at the gym on Murray St. and told police that he had securely locked away his stuff. But when he came back from the shower around 3:15 p.m. he noticed that the lock had been broken and his $100 bag, holding a $500 Montblanc wallet, sports clothes worth $150 and two credit cards, was gone, police said.
PHONE PINCHERS Two pairs of smartphone snatchers struck some unsuspecting visitors to Lower Manhattan.
An upstate man locked his car and started walking along the Brooklyn Bridge footpath near City Hall just after midnight on Sunday Jan. 17, when two men rode up on bikes and snatched his Samsung Galaxy S6 phone out of his hand, according to police.
The victim told police that one of the perps was wearing a wig. In a separate incident on Wednesday Jan. 20, police say a Chelsea woman sitting on a bench on the southeast corner of Grand St. and Sixth Ave. had her $600 iPhone 6 swiped by two thieves — whom she then chased through Hudson Square. At 12:33 p.m., a man approached the victim and asked for the time, according to police, and when she raised her phone to check, another man grabbed it and the two snatchers ran off north on Sixth Ave.
According to the report, the woman was hot on their heels when they turned onto Grand and then Varick St., but she lost sight of them after they passed Broome St.
EXPENSIVE TASTE Two men swiped a luxury leather jacket from the Dior Homme store in Soho on Wednesday Jan. 20., according to police.
One of the thieves reportedly took the $4,700 navy jacket off the display rack at the 133 Greene St. boutique around 4:30 p.m., hiding it under his own jacket as he walked out of the store.
Police are looking for two men, both 5-foot-9, one with short black hair and a mustache and the other dressed in a waist-length green jacket.
BEHIND HER BACK A Brooklyn woman got a surprise with her check when she had lunch in Soho, according to police.
The victim was eating at the Dominique Ansel Bakery on Spring St. on Sunday Jan. 17, with her purse zipped up on the chair behind her.
When she turned around to grab it around 3 p.m., she noticed that it was open and her wallet was gone — complete with credit and insurance cards, an unlimited Metrocard and $20 in cash.
— Yannic Rack
SECOND CHOICE A robbery victim wouldn’t give up her ring, so the thief settled for some cash. On Tuesday Jan. 12, a man — described as 5-foot-6 — went into Ayouwan Grocery on Church St. in Tribeca at 10:55 p.m brandishing a knife, according to police.
He first demanded a gold ring from a 53-year-old woman. When she refused, he said, “Give me money.” Police say a male employee, 61, then opened the cash register and handed the suspect $750.
SMARTPHONE SNATCH Smartphone envy can be motivating: two men ripped off three of them — worth over $2,000 — from an AT&T store, police say.
An employee told police it took the two thieves one minute to come into the store at 217 Broadway on Saturday Jan. 16 at 4:18 p.m., pull the three cells from their security wire and jet. Police say they snatched a $650 iPhone 6S, a $750 iPhone 6S Plus and a $714 Samsung SG Edge.
— Dusica Sue Malesevic
