Not a steal for the stat sheet
A sneaky shoplifter ripped off a jeweler near the South Street Seaport on April 25, police said.
An employee for Seaport Jewelers at 50 Fulton St. told cops the unidentified man walked in around 1:30 p.m. and asked to try on two platinum and diamond rings, both worth over $8,000. The man reportedly said he was just in town to see the Brooklyn Nets game later that day, and wanted to “make a decision” about purchasing one of the rings.
But moments later, the man allegedly snatched both rings, ran out of the store and jumped into a white Chevrolet Cruze — with New York license plates — after which he drove away in an unknown direction, police said. The thief did forget one thing, though: a bag, containing sneakers, that he dropped in the store on his way out. Cops are still investigating, but the bag apparently hasn’t yet led to any positive identification of the suspect.
Candy heist
Here’s one way to get a sugar high.
Five young men stole candy from a Tribeca convenience store on April 27, and smacked an employee who tried to stop them, police said.
The worker for 7-Eleven, at 311 Broadway, told cops the group of unidentified males walked in around 3:30 p.m., grabbed several bags of sweets and strolled right back out, knocking over a fruit display basket in the process. The employee reportedly chased them outside, saying he was about to call the police, but one of the alleged thieves, who was toting a skateboard, responded by swinging it around and whacking the employee, leaving him with a cut on his hand.
All five suspects then fled the scene, and a police canvass shortly afterward was unsuccessful.
Delivery drama
An opportunistic thief conned a food deliveryman into coughing up $100 inside a Financial District building on April 28, police said.
The deliveryman told cops he was bringing some food to 16 Beaver St. — an office building that includes, among other groups, an arts collective sometimes credited with starting Occupy Wall Street — around 2:40 p.m., and was approached in the lobby by an unidentified man who claimed the grub was for him.
After the man asked if he had change for a $100 bill, the deliveryman said he didn’t, but would go back to his nearby restaurant — which police did not identify — and pick it up. The deliveryman reportedly returned to the Beaver St. building minutes later, with $100 worth of smaller bills in hand, after which the alleged thief told him to come to the elevator. Once inside the elevator, the man grabbed the cash right out of the deliveryman’s hand and fled the building, police said.
Subway swipe at W.T.C.
Police arrested a 49-year-old man early on April 26 after he allegedly stole a sleeping passenger’s bag onboard a subway train leaving the World Trade Center station.
A police officer who was also on the northbound E train said he spotted the alleged thief swipe the bag — containing $22 in cash and several articles of clothing — around 3:45 a.m., after which the suspect crossed over into an adjoining train car.
The officer followed, and apprehended the thief in the other car, while also recovering the stolen bag. The man was charged with grand larceny.
— SAM SPOKONY
