Baldwin threatens Express photographer
Alec Baldwin, star of “30 Rock,” was accused of punching Daily News photographer Marcus Santos after Baldwin and his fiancée, Hilaria Thomas, came out of the Worth Street marriage license bureau on Tues., June 19. Santos filed a complaint against the actor at the 5th Precinct police station, according to the News.
The incident started when Baldwin threatened Jefferson Siegel, a freelance photographer who often shoots for Downtown Express.
Siegel told the News, “He said, ‘Stay away from me or I’ll break your f—–g teeth.’ Then he grabbed my camera lens and tried to shove my camera to the ground.”
Santos then sprung to Siegel’s defense and told Baldwin, “Don’t touch him.”
Siegel photographed Baldwin’s attack on Santos, and his picture made the Daily News front page on June 20. The following day, the New York Press Club issued a statement condemning the attack.
“Baldwin is a public figure. His activities — including in this case, the procurement of a marriage license — are legitimate subjects of media interest. Baldwin’s subsequent attack today on a reporter for Inside Edition, who was trying to ask questions about the previous day’s incident — Baldwin ran his bike over her foot — is deplorable.”
The statement ended saying, “Baldwin’s actions should not be tolerated. They should be exposed — and condemned.”
In an interview the following day with the Washington Post, Baldwin all but denied that he punched Santos.
“The guy lunged, and he almost hit me in the teeth with the lens of a camera,” he said. “So I just pushed the guy away but they all make it like… they all… my favorite line was John Malkovich, who said, ‘They all scream like they’re political prisoners.'”
“He stabbed himself”
Yekaterina Pusepa, arrested May 12 outside 33 Gold St. for stabbing her boyfriend Alec Katznelson in the chest, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder on Thurs., June 14 and was held in lieu of $125,000 bail pending an Aug. 1 court appearance. She told police at the time of the arrest that she and Katznelson were arguing in their Gold Street apartment when he grabbed the knife that was in his hand, plunged it into his own chest and then walked out of the building and collapsed on the corner across the street. The victim, who had been arrested two months before the stabbing for pushing Pusepa down the stairs of the Gold Street building, has recovered.
Seek Delancey Street robbers
Police are seeking information on two suspects who held up the Duane Reade at 100 Delancey St. at Ludlow St. at gunpoint around 11 p.m. Fri., June 15. When the woman cashier refused their demand for money, one of the robbers said, “Shoot her,” whereupon his accomplice fired and missed. The two then fled in an unknown direction. One suspect was described as Hispanic, 40-45 years old, between 5’10” and 6’ with short dark hair and sporting a blue baseball cap with a white symbol on the front and a black jacket and a white shirt. The other suspect was described as Hispanic, 40-45 years old, 5’9” with salt-and-pepper hair, a mustache and goatee. He was reportedly wearing a blue short-sleeved jacket and white sneakers. Tips may be phoned to Crime Stoppers, 800-577-TIPS (8477), online at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting ‘274637’ (Crimes) and entering ‘TIP577.’
Club melee
A bottle-throwing brawl at W. i. P., the club at 34 Vandam St. in the basement of Greenhouse (150 Varick St.), involving celebrities including Chris Brown and Drake, left eight people with minor injuries around 4:10 a.m. on Thurs., June 14. The incident is still under investigation, but there were no arrests, police said. The brawl started over an argument between Brown and Drake over the singer, Rihanna, who was not at the club, according to the New York Post and the Daily News.
Multi-bank robbery
Police arrested Cornell Neilly, 21, on Wed., June 13 and charged him with robbing or attempting to rob 14 banks from Harlem to the Financial District since April 11. Among his targets was an HSBC branch at 26 Broadway and a Chase branch at 231 Grand St. He earned the tabloid nickname the “Burberry Bandit” because he wore a Burberry shirt in two robberies.
Watch thieves
Police arrested a man and a woman around 6:15 p.m. Sun., June 17 for stealing a watch from a jewelry store at 385 Canal St. near Thompson St. The suspects, Melinda Rodriguez, 29, and Stephen Rios, 31, grabbed the watch and fled. The owner, who saw the theft, phoned 9-1-1 and followed the suspects. Rios confronted the owner and punched him in the face. The two suspects then ducked into the doorways of two W. Broadway buildings, where police collared them.
Playground theft
A man, who stopped after work to play basketball at the playground in Battery Park at State and South Streets at 11 a.m. Sat., June 16, put his bag in his friend’s backpack and discovered a half hour later that his wallet was stolen from it. He lost $100 in cash, credit cards and his New Jersey driver’s license.
A Battery Park City woman told police on Fri., June 8 that she was in the playground at Pier 25 with her toddler daughter around 3:45 p.m. Thurs., May 31 and left her bag for a moment to catch up to the child. She returned to find that someone had taken her wallet with $250 in it.
Kayak and wheels stolen
A resident of 355 South End Ave. in Battery Park City told police that his $900 kayak, and two bicycles, valued at more than $500, which were stored in the rear of the building, were stolen on Sun., June 10.
Fishy burglary
Police arrested Patrick Byrd, 52, on Tues., June 12 for the May 18 burglary at Blue Planet Grill (120 Greenwich St. near Albany St.). A surveillance camera caught Byrd’s image stealing $200 worth of seafood from a freezer and stuffing it into a duffle bag around 9:30 p.m. Restaurant workers who saw the theft gave chase, but the suspect escaped until he was arrested nearly a month later.
Stolen from food cart
A vendor told police that she took her food cart out of the storage place at 293 Church St. near Worth St. around 11 a.m. Sun., June 17, left the cart for a moment and returned to find that her bag, which she had left on top of the cart, had been stolen. She lost her Consumer Affairs and Health Department licenses and $200 in cash.
Car theft
A man who parked his black 2010 Dodge Avenger at 88 Pine St. around 6 p.m. Thurs., June 7, returned from dinner at a Seaport restaurant three hours later to find the car had been stolen.
Seaport pickpurse
A Newburgh, N.Y. visitor to the Seaport told police she was bumped several times while walking in a crowded area near Pier 16 around 9:30 p.m. Fri., June 15 and discovered that her wallet, with $160 in cash, had been stolen from her bag.
Subway snatch
A Brooklyn woman, 46, was taking a Q train home from the Canal Street station at Broadway around 8:40 p.m. Thurs., June 7, when a thief snatched her bag and fled.
Bags gone
A woman, 21, visiting from Montepulciano, Italy, was having coffee at a Downtown Starbucks around 3 p.m. Wed., June 13 when a thief fled with her bag that she left on the chair next to her.
A Brooklyn woman, 23, was having lunch at a restaurant at 101 Maiden La. around 2 p.m. Wed., June 13 when a thief made off with her bag. She discovered that unauthorized charges had been made on one of her credit cards at Unlimited Jeans on Canal Street.
