Park sexual assault
Police are searching for a man who allegedly sexually assaulted a 37-year-old woman near Hudson River Park on Sun., Oct. 27.
The woman told police she was walking north on West St. near W. 12th St., around 10:30 p.m., when the unknown assailant grabbed her and dragged her into a nearby playground. As she tried to fight him off, the man reportedly forced her to perform oral sex on him, police said.
The victim was eventually able to flee, and made it across the street to a residential building on West St., where a doorman called 911. The attacker, whom the woman described as being around 5 feet 8 inches tall and 165 pounds, fled before police arrived.
The woman was taken to Beth Israel Hospital, but refused medical treatment and also refused to allow law enforcement to swab for any DNA evidence that might have been left on her body, according to the New York Post.
Bag thieves’ bitter end
Police arrested two men after they allegedly stole a woman’s purse as she was leaving a Greenwich Village music venue early on Sat., Oct. 26.
The woman, 25, said she stepped out of The Bitter End, at 147 Bleecker St., around 4:15 a.m., and placed her bag on the ground while putting on her coat. According to police, Joseph Alvarez, 19, and Brandon Bunch, 21, who were walking by, reportedly snatched the purse and took off running. But a couple of cops, who were on patrol nearby, spotted the action and were able to stop the pair before they could get away.
Alvarez and Bunch were both charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
Violent vixens
Police arrested Camille Palmer, 22, and Egypt Morgan, 24, after they allegedly stole a man’s wallet and then attacked him and his friend at a Meatpacking District nightclub on Sun., Oct. 27.
The victim, 47, said the two women approached him around 3:30 a.m., while he and his 39-year-old friend were standing at the bar inside Tenjune, at 26 Little W. 12th St. After chatting him up to distract him, the women reportedly took his wallet, and then walked into the bathroom to take out the cash and credit cards.
By the time the two young women exited the bathroom and started making their way outside to a taxi, the two men had realized the scheme and tried to stop them. But both women reportedly pepper-sprayed the victim’s friend, and Palmer reportedly kicked the victim with her stiletto shoes.
Fortunately for the men, a couple of officers noticed the commotion and dragged the ladies out of a taxi before they could speed off. Palmer and Morgan were both charged with robbery.
Meatpacking scratching
Police arrested a woman, 26, and man, 35, after they allegedly attacked a man at the Gansevoort Hotel on Oct. 27.
The victim, 29, said he was having a drink at the Meatpacking District hotel’s rooftop bar around 2 a.m., when the woman and man started an argument with him. The man reportedly tried to punch him in the face, but missed, and then grabbed him while the woman repeatedly scratched his face, drawing blood.
Hotel employees called, and officers arrived in time to break up the fight and handcuff the two alleged instigators. They were both charged with assault and harassment.
Senior straphanger fleeced
An elderly Greenwich Village resident told police she was the victim of a theft while riding the subway home on Oct. 26.
The woman, 69, who lives on LaGuardia Place, said she took an uptown 6 train from Spring St. to Bleecker St. around 4 p.m., while carrying her purse. When she got home, she realized her credit cards were missing.
She called to cancel her cards, and learned that unauthorized purchases had already been made on two of them. Police are investigating the case based on the credit charges’ location, but for now the thief remains unknown.
— Sam Spokony
