Robbed at knifepoint
A woman was robbed at knifepoint last week in the Financial District, police say.
The woman, 32, had just gotten out money from an A.T.M. near Fulton St. and Broadway on Mon., June 15 at 8 p.m., police say. A man asked her for directions and while she was distracted another man — described as late 30s, 6 ft. 1″ and wearing a hat, glasses and a plaid button-up shirt — brandished a knife and said, “Give me everything,” according to police.
The Upper East Side resident handed over $800 and her jewelry — a ring, bracelet, chain and pendant — to the thief, who then fled toward Church St. It is unclear if the two men were working together.
Mugger punches woman
A woman was walking in Soho last week when a man attacked her from behind and snatched her purse.
The 21-year-old victim was walking on 6th Ave. on Tues., June 16 at 11:20 p.m., when a man ran up behind her, punched her on the right cheek and then grabbed her white Italian bag, police say. The purse was worth $200, and the thief also got her $70 Coco Chanel perfume and her iPhone charger.
The woman, who lives in Soho, told police that she had made eye contact with her attacker, who she said was wearing a bright teal shirt and plaid shorts and has a muscular build. Police say he followed her down the street before he struck.
Another cabbie robbed
It has been a bad month for cabbies.
On Mon. June 15, at 10:30 p.m., a taxi driver picked up a woman on W. 9th and 6th Ave. He let her sit up front because she said she had pain in her legs. She asked him to drive to Brooklyn but along the way, kept taking him down random streets.
When the driver, 38 and from Queens, got to the corner of Church and Walker Sts. in Tribeca, the woman jumped out and said, “I can’t pay.” Not only did she not pay her fare — she stole his credit cards and $300 from his backpack.
Earlier this month, another taxi driver was robbed by a female passenger, who also sat up front with him. Police did not say the two crimes were connected.
Simultaneous sunglass swipes
The sun is shining and Soho shoplifters have turned their attention to boosting expensive sunglasses.
On Wed., June 17, two teams of two men went into Soho shops and grabbed the pricey shades — at the same time, 2:05 p.m.
One theft took place at Ilori, a luxury eyewear store at 138 Spring St. A male employee, 31, told police two men who looked around 30 and who were bald, came into the store and stole six pairs of sunglasses worth a total of $5,385. At Silver Lining Opticians at 92 Thompson St., the men, described as around 40, stole sunglasses and glasses worth $2,020.
No word if they were coordinated thefts.
Suspect in attacks on Asian women dies
A man who was targeting and attacking Asian women throughout Manhattan committed suicide this week, police say.
Tyrelle Shaw, 25, was found dead in an Upper East Side building on Mon., June 22.
Police say Shaw’s first attack took place on Wed., June 10 at 4:15 p.m. near 155 Grand St. When he tried to speak with a woman, who is 35 and Asian, she ignored him. He left but then returned with a white plastic bag that contained a hard object and struck the woman in the face, according to police. She was taken to a Lower Manhattan Hospital and then released.
This pattern was repeated with at least three other Asian women being attacked — in Chinatown, Kips Bay and the Upper East Side.
Before Shaw’s suicide, Councilmember Margaret Chin of Lower Manhattan issued a call for information that could help the police capture him.
“As an Asian woman, I am personally disgusted by these racially-targeted attacks,” Chin said in a June 17 statement. “These are clearly acts of hate and ignorance.”
In a blog post, Shaw described the attacks as “a game” and said he “couldn’t understand why Asian women didn’t find me attractive,” several news outlets reported.
Tribeca car break-in
A Chelsea woman got her car broken into last week — and the thief got away with over $7,000 worth of stuff that included an Apple laptop and expensive swimwear.
The woman, 47, parked her car at the corner of Franklin and Church Sts. in Tribeca on Wed., June 17 at 11:00 p.m., and then went to a lounge, police say. When she came back to her car several things — her wallet, swim pieces worth $1,920, cover-ups valued at $1,800, sandals, a $400 scarf and $165 sunglasses — were gone. She told police she had locked her car. There were no broken windows or scratches around the locks.
The thief also got away with three of her credit cards, which she told police had unauthorized charges on one.
— DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC
