Sneaky burglar on C
Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying an individual wanted for a burglary on Fri., Jan. 10, inside an apartment on Avenue C. The suspect reportedly followed the victim into her apartment and removed a laptop computer, cell phone and credit cards. The suspect has long black hair and a moustache.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be submitted by logging on to the Crime Stoppers Web site, WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or by texting to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577.
Not fast enough
A fleet-footed police officer got his man on the afternoon of Jan. 24, after chasing down a thief who tried to flee across W. 11th St.
A woman, 54, told cops that a man snatched her cell phone and wallet out of her hands as she was walking past the corner of W. 11th St. and Sixth Ave. around 2:15 p.m. The man then reportedly took off running westbound along the street, but the officer spotted him in flight and took up the chase.
Once he realized the officer was gaining on him, the suspect threw the stolen items on the ground, police said. But he was apprehended moments later by the speedy officer.
John Daise, 22, was charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, and he was later also charged with criminal mischief, because he damaged the woman’s cell phone by tossing it to the ground.
Stop and frisk and fake
Police arrested Gabriel Williams, 33, after he allegedly pretended to be a police officer and apparently attempted to stop and frisk two men on Jan. 18.
The victims, ages 52 and 58, told police they were on Bleecker St., between Thompson St. and LaGuardia Place, around 2:45 a.m. when Williams approached, stated he was a cop and flashed a bogus badge and handcuffs.
Williams then reportedly told the two men get up against a wall, and when one of them stepped forward in defiance, he claimed to have a gun — which was not true — and pulled out his cell phone to “call for backup.”
The two startled men quickly called real police officers to report the incident, and Williams was arrested near the scene. He was charged with criminal impersonation.
Meatpacking swipe
David Robles, 29, was arrested early on Jan. 17 after stealing a woman’s cell phone and credit cards at a Meatpacking District nightclub, police said.
Initially, the officers who walked into Catch, at 21 Ninth Ave., around 3 a.m. were responding to reports of a brawl. But moments later, the woman, 25, told them that Robles had just grabbed her purse and removed the items. Nightclub staff quickly corroborated her story, telling cops that they’d spotted Robles with the bag in hand.
The officers caught the alleged thief before he could leave the club.
Robles was charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. At the time of the arrest, he was also awaiting sentencing for an earlier grand larceny conviction after pleading guilty on Dec. 23, according to court records. In addition, Robles is currently on trial for aggravated harassment and stalking. Both charges date back to a November 2012 incident, according to court records.
Weapon busts
Police arrested Stanley Rawls, 54, after they spotted him wielding a dangerous lead pipe while panhandling on a subway train on Jan. 16.
Officers said they saw Rawls on the southbound F train around 1:15 p.m., after they got on at the 14th St. station. He was shaking a cup and asking for change, but of more concern to cops was that fact that he was also carrying the pipe, to which he had attached a large metal chain.
After he was approached by the officers, Rawls reportedly told them he used the contraption “for protection.” He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
Earlier that day, police had also arrested Jose Santiago, 28, for allegedly carrying an illegal knife on a South Village sidewalk.
Cops said they initially stopped Santiago after spotting him urinating in public on Sullivan St. between Bleecker and W. Third Sts. When they searched him, the officers reportedly found the gravity knife in his pocket.
Santiago was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
— Sam Spokony
