Wanted a free ride
On Thurs., July 10, at 4:30 a.m., a man was charged with a felony offense for criminal mischief when he refused to pay his cab fare, and then tried to attack the cab driver, according to police.
The hack, 44, stated that the passenger, identified as Samuel Rogers, 21, refused to pay the $6.50 fare upon arriving at his destination at the corner of LaGuardia Place and W. Houston St. Rogers then exited the vehicle, before allegedly chasing after it again to break the driver’s side front window with a knife, causing the driver to “fear for his safety,” according to the report.
While police arrived and spoke to the victim, Rogers returned to the area of the crime. He was identified by the cab driver and taken into custody.
Detective assaulted
The New York Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in locating an unidentified male suspect who assaulted an off-duty detective in the Gramercy area last Saturday.
At around 6:23 p.m., while standing on the southbound No. 6 train platform of the 23rd St. and Park Ave. South station, the 29-year-old detective was punched in the face by the suspect, according to police. While falling to the ground, the male detective sustained a severe head injury. E.M.S. responders arrived on scene to transport the victim, in critical condition, to Bellevue Hospital.
The suspect was accompanied by two females, and fled the scene on foot. He was described as a black male in his early 40s, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Police said the suspect is around 5 feet 9 inches tall, and weighs 200 pounds.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the N.Y.P.D.’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting tips to 274637(CRIMES), then entering TIP577.
Pees and flees
Police said they observed a man urinating on a Village sidewalk in the early hours of Sat., July 12.
He was spotted on the corner of Christopher and Greenwich Sts., at 2:10 a.m. As police approached, the man ran into the street and into oncoming traffic, “creating hazardous conditions,” according to the report.
Christian Johnson, 22, was charged with a misdemeanor for reckless endangerment. Doing a routine warrant check, police found that he had an active State Supreme Court bench warrant.
The subway dance beat
At 3:55 p.m. on Tues., July 8, police received reports of two teenagers “dancing recklessly” on a subway train.
Nathaniel Jones, 19, and a juvenile male, 15, were charged with a misdemeanor for reckless endangerment while on the A train in the W. Fourth St. station.
Police reported that the pair had been hanging and swinging from the train poles in a dangerous manner, which allegedly put passengers “at risk of substantial physical injury.”
The two teens were playing loud music from a portable amp and soliciting money from passengers for their routine, all of which was deemed to be “causing public annoyance,” according to the report.
Upon arrest, the boys didn’t have any identification. Police Commissioner Bratton is leading a crackdown on buskers dancing inside subway cars.
Pizzeria robbery
Also on July 8, a female victim, 49, was mugged inside of 99-cent Fresh Pizza, at 388 Sixth Ave.
According to police, while waiting in line, Camillea McFarlane, 18, and two accomplices — who are still at large — were caught putting their hands into the victim’s purse. When confronted, McFarlane began hitting the older woman with a closed fist, causing bruising and swelling to the victim’s left eye and neck, the police report stated.
When the victim’s brother, 32, attempted to stop the violence, he was attacked, too, by several individuals. He also had his phone, valued at around $600, stolen in the process, while his sister’s phone was broken in the earlier melee.
Police arrived on scene at 7:15 p.m., and spoke to the victims, who refused medical attention. McFarlane was charged with robbery, a felony. Police are still searching for her two accomplices, one of them a 20-year-old female.
— Sergei Klebnikov
