Nim-rods busted
Police hauled in two men on the afternoon of May 20 after they were spotted trying to beat each other’s brains out on a West Village sidewalk.
Dawud Stewart, 37, and Hama Amadou, 31, were apparently engaged in a heated argument near the corner of Washington and Christopher Sts., around 4:30 p.m., when they both picked up blunt objects and began mercilessly whacking each other, police said. After witnesses called to report the incident, officers arrived to find Stewart wielding a metal rod and Amadou waving a wooden broomstick.
Stewart and his heavier weaponry got the better of the duel, as he left the fight with only a cut on his hand while Amadou was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment of several cuts on his neck, police said. Though each man claimed he was the victim, both were slapped with assault charges.
Wild chase for mugger
An opportunist crook thought he would have an easy time stealing from a senior citizen, but the tables were turned when the victim, his son and several bystanders chased the thug down.
The victim, 70, told police he was walking past the corner of W. Ninth St. and Sixth Ave. with his son, 45, around 1:15 p.m. Sat., May 18, when the alleged thief — later identified as Eric Collier, 29 — ran up from behind and snatched his wallet out of his hand. And when the senior struggled to take his property back, Collier reportedly muscled him down, regained control of the billfold — containing a credit card, MetroCard and $60 cash — and fled on foot.
The victim’s son ran after Collier and was able to corner him down the street, but the shifty thief feigned a punch and got away, police said. But the son continued the chase — now aided by three citizens who had witnessed the crime. After several more failed attempts to corner Collier, the posse of pursuers succeeded in stopping Collier, soon after which police arrived to arrest him, charging with robbery.
Bottle smasher acted out
Police arrested Tal Grinbram, 21, early on Sun., May 19, after they say he smashed a beer bottle over another patron’s head during a bar fight.
Grinbaum got into it with a 20-year-old man shortly after midnight, while they were both having drinks at the Actors Playhouse, at 100 Seventh Ave. South (an establishment that doubles as an indie theater), police said. The victim told officers that he was left with cuts on his head and chest after Grinbaum hit him with the glass bottle, but he didn’t require hospitalization.
Grinbaum was apprehended about an hour later just down the block from the Playhouse, after police on patrol identified him by the description given by the victim. He was charged with assault.
Made in the shades, not
Two women tried making off with $1,200 worth of merchandise stolen from two swanky Bleecker St. stores on May 14.
An employee at Marc Jacobs called police around 7 p.m. to tell them that two women — later identified as Sonia Ufot Johnson, 35, and Fatou Fadiga, 20 — had just left the shop with a pair of $340 sunglasses without paying. The employee then followed the women on the street for several minutes, until cops arrived and quickly discovered the stolen shades. Upon searching Johnson and Fadiga, the officers also found pricey earrings and bracelets that had just been reported stolen from the nearby Alexis Bittar shop.
Both women were charged with grand larceny.
‘Spirited’ away her cash
Police are searching for three women who allegedly conned an elderly woman out of $2,000 on a Nolita sidewalk by claiming they could use psychic powers to cleanse her cash of “evil spirits.”
The three suspects, all believed to be in their 40s, approached the victim, 72, near the corner of Prince and Elizabeth Sts. around 9 a.m. on Thurs., May 9, police said. One of the alleged scammers reportedly told the older woman her entire family would be haunted by the spirits if she didn’t “purify” her money.
But when the unwitting woman took the suspects back to her Spring St. home and gave them $2,000 in a bag, the thieving trio kept it and gave her back a fake replacement bag, full of shredded newspapers, police said. The scammers covered their tracks by telling the senior not to open her newly “purified” bag for several days, in order to make sure all the spirits had left the cash. When the woman finally peered in her purse, she realized she’d been had, and reported the crime to police, who are still investigating.
6th Precinct A.T.M. safety tips
Be aware of suspicious people outside and inside A.T.M. location;
Don’t leave A.T.M. without completing your transaction, even if you need to switch machines;
Block bystanders’ view while conducting your transaction. Use the mirrors positioned at the A.T.M. to see behind you;
If you feel someone is looking over your shoulder, cancel the transaction and leave immediately;
Only use A.T.M.s in well-lit, populated areas;
Avoid A.T.M. locations that have unlocked doors or are open to the street;
Put your money away and take your card and receipt before leaving the A.T.M.
— Sam Spokony
