SMOOTH MOVE
A thief made off with a piece of heavy machinery stored in a van on Church Street on May 22.
The victim told police he parked his work van between Franklin and Whitehall street at 12:30 pm, and returned less than four hours later to find a lock securing his vehicle busted, and his floor sanding machine, worth $6,800, stolen.
IN AND OUT
A pack of five delinquents brazenly ransacked a Broadway fashion boutique on May 22, running in and out with stolen goods, and attacking a worker when she attempted to intervene.
The victim told police she was tending shop at the retailer between Spring and Prince streets at 12:25 pm, when the rascals swept through, nabbing shirts and other items off the shelves, and concealing them as they fled with their ill-gotten attire.
But they weren’t satisfied with their first sweep, and the thieves returned for a second, more brazen attempt, according to police.
As the crooks sought to make off with their second haul, the victim grabbed one of the goons, who, along with an accomplice, beat her in order to make good on their escape, cops said.
BAG IT
A thief made off with a woman’s bag and laptop as she dined within a West Broadway eatery on May 19.
The victim told police that she’d placed her satchel on the floor beside her seat at the restaurant between Broome and Grand streets 6:45 pm, and discovered a few hours later that someone had managed to snatch it out from under her.
The woman’s bank later informed her that the thief had used her cards to conduct two bogus transactions, cops said.
A good Samaritan later recovered the victim’s bag and handed it to an officer at the First Precinct for safe keeping, but when the woman came to retrieve it, she found her $1,700 laptop was missing, according to police.
FOOD FIGHT
Cops arrested a man for allegedly beating a food vendor for parking his cart on Wall Street on May 27.
The victim told police he set up his mobile eatery between Nassau and William streets at 10:24 pm, when the suspect started bickering with him over the spot before allegedly slugging him in the face, knocking him out cold.
The food vendor was transported to Presbyterian Hospital, while police managed to round up the suspect following a brief search, cops said.
BAD CALL
A woman snatched the phone right out of a straphanger’s hand at a Fulton Street subway station on May 27, before beating the victim mercilessly after she tried to retrieve her property.
The victim told police she was walking through the mezzanine of the station near Nassau Street at 12:45 pm, when the brute snatched the iPhone 5S from her grasp.
The woman demanded her property back, but all she got was a knuckle sandwich, and after the victim continued pursuing the thief, the other woman grabbed her hair, threw her to the ground, and assaulted her with an onslaught of kicks, cops said.
RUSSIAN ROULETTE
A gunman knocked off a Fulton Street newsstand on May 20, nabbing cash and lotto tickets.
The victim told police he was manning the counter between William and Gold streets at 7:53 pm, when the armed robber appeared wielding a silver pistol and cracked him on the side of the head. The thief took $3,000 and a stock of lotto tickets as loot, before fleeing towards the Hudson River on Fulton Street, cops said.
DECLINED!
A woman caught two thieves in the act as they attempted to use her credit cards for an illicit spending spree on Liberty Street on May 17.
The victim told police that she was eating at a restaurant near West Street at 5:12 pm, when she received a text alert from her bank notifying her of suspicious activity on her card. The woman then checked her purse, which she’d had under the bar as she dined, to find her credit cards were missing.
As turned out, her bank told her the crooks were at a different store in same building, and she ran to the other retailer and shouted, “Someone is using my card!”
At that, the crooks revealed themselves by suddenly fleeing, and the victim was able to cancel the illicit transaction and her cards before any serious harm was done, cops said.
— Colin Mixson
