TASER TAG
Two men tasered and robbed a woman at the Manhattan Detention Complex on White St. this week, stealing the 66-year-old’s purse with $30,000 in cash, police say.
The robbers assaulted the woman just after 7 p.m. on Tuesday May 10 inside the facility’s bail office, where she was reportedly posting bail for her son, before they fled eastbound on Canal St. in a silver or white Lexus, cops say.
NICKEL AND DIMED
A cash collector emptying out vending machines in Tribeca had his haul stolen while on a lunch break last week, police say.
The worker, employed by ASA Vending, left his company van parked on Murray St. while on a one-hour siesta on Thursday May 5, according to police.
When he came back, the van’s side door was broken open and nine leather bags concealed by a sweater and containing a total of $650 were missing, cops say.
THIEF IN TRANSIT
A sneaky subway drifter was busted by an observant police officer last week, after the cop watched him allegedly pinch a phone on a northbound E train, according to police.
The homeless man was moving between cars and smoking on the train as it passed through Canal St. around 5 a.m. on Friday May 6, but the transit cop busted him after witnessing the man allegedly steal a $400 iPhone 6 from an unsuspecting passenger sleeping on a bench, police say.
While the alleged pickpocket — who also had an outstanding warrant — was being arrested, he tried to appeal to the officer’s sympathy, telling him, “I woke up on [the] E train walking through cars, saw a drunk man sleep with his phone out, [so] I decided to take his phone and sell it for food and clean clothes,” according to a report.
SHADY SHOPLIFTER
A hammer-wielding thief was caught stealing sunglasses from a Fidi store last week, cops say.
The man allegedly tried to bag seven pairs of shades worth $1,300 from the Sunglass Hut on Broadway on Thursday May 5, not knowing that a police officer was watching him, according to a report.
When the cop busted the accused thief, it turned out he was also armed with a hammer — which he explained was not for home repairs but “to help with people who try to intimidate me uptown, just in case,” police say.
SIGHTS UNSEEN
A pitiless pickpocket robbed a teenage tourist from the Netherlands of her sightseeing pass as she was eating at a Downtown McDonald’s, police say.
The 14-year-old girl was sitting at the fast-food eatery on Broadway on Sunday May 1, when the perp reached into her bag and stole a $25 Tommy Hilfiger wallet with $10 in cash and a NYC City Pass worth $275 — which includes admission to sights like the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty — according to a report.
TIMEPIECE TAKEN
A trendy thief pocketed a pricey watch from a gym locker in the Financial District, cops say.
The man, who was seen hanging around the New York Health & Racquet Club on Whitehall St. last Thursday May 5, stole a bag from a locker at the gym around 2:15 p.m. while its owner was working out, according to police.
Instead of making off with his haul, he deposited the bag in another locker, contents complete except for a $4,800 Bell & Ross watch, police say.
— Yannick Rack
