W.T.C. guard arrested in slashing
Fries flew and tempers flared early Monday morning outside of a Financial District McDonald’s when a World Trade Center security guard slashed and stabbed a 20-year-old man, according to the police and media reports.
The verbal dispute started inside of the fast-food joint at 160 Broadway, where reportedly the younger man threw fries at the guard. The Queens man, his friend, 22, and the 54-year-old guard stepped outside of the McDonalds on Mon., Sept. 14 at around 3:30 a.m., police say.
The two men confronted the guard, who proceeded to pull out a knife, according to police. The younger man punched the guard, who then proceeded to swing the knife and slice the 22-year-old on the left side of his face, police say. The guard also stabbed the victim in the upper left area of his chest, police say.
The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital and was in stable condition, according to reports.
The guard took off and was caught by police near Church St., according to reports. The knife was not found.
The suspect, Saul Puente, has been charged with one count of assault with intent to cause injury with a weapon, according to the New York State Unified Court system. He has been released on his own recognizance.
iBeating
The victim of a $700 iPhone snatch chased down the thief, but ended up getting punched and kicked by the suspect’s friends, police say.
At 12:30 a.m. on Sat., Sept. 12, a Stuyvesant Town resident was at the corner of MacDougal and West Houston Sts., when a suspect grabbed his phone out of his hand and took off toward 6th Ave. The man, 33, chased after the thief, caught up to him and tackled him to get his phone back. The man who took the phone told the victim, “I got your phone — chill…chill,” according to police. Two men and one woman then proceeded to punch and kick the victim.
The four — all described as around 20 — fled with the iPhone.
Assault & scooter robbery
A Lower East Side teenager was enjoying his self-balancing scooter when three men working together assaulted him and stole the $350 scooter and his backpack before fleeing the Financial District, police say.
The teen, 15, was using the cool contraption — like a Segway without handles or a hoverboard with wheels — near New and Beaver Sts. on Sat., Aug. 5 at around 12:45 p.m., police say, when one of the three men approached the teen and asked to try out the scooter. The teen obliged. But when he asked for the scooter back, the two other men hit him in the face and the neck. The victim fell to the ground.
The three suspects stole the scooter as well as the teen’s $80 Kevin Durant bag, $120 Under Armour basketball shoes and $25 Nike sandals.
Damsel decoy leads to pickpocket ploy
A Connecticut man fell prey to three con artists on the 4 train on Fri., Sept. 4 at 4:40 p.m., police say.
The man, 48, got on the train at the Fulton St. station and told police that the trio followed him into the car. One of the three, a woman — described as around 25, 5ft. 4” and 100 pounds — acted as if her hand was caught in the door. The second of the group — a man described as around 20, 5ft. 10” and 180 pounds — went to help her.
While this distraction was going on, a third member — a man also described as 20, 5ft. 10” and 180 pounds — bumped into the man and stole his wallet. The three then fled when the doors reopened. But before they left the station, the victim said the suspects made eye contact with him and smiled.
They got away with his credit cards, $7, driver’s license and a $150 train ticket. The man told police that he cancelled his cards.
Traffic cone used as weapon
A verbal dispute turned ugly in Soho when a man used a traffic cone to hit the other over the head, police say.
On Sat., Sept. 5, at 2:20 p.m., a 37-year-old man got into an argument with another man about sitting in front of the store at the corner of Greene and Prince Sts. The suspect didn’t take this too well, first smacking the victim in the face, shoving him and then using a traffic cone to hit him. The suspect was described as around 20 and 6ft.
The police did not release the name of the store nor the victim’s relationship to it.
Thief makes hefty deposit, police say
A shoplifter used a $500 purchase to swipe a $1,200 jacket from a Soho shop, police say.
On Wed., Sept. 9, a female employee of the high-end French clothing store Kooples at 115 Mercer St. told police a man spent an hour trying on items. He then tried to make the $500 purchase with two different credit cards. Both were declined. So the man paid in cash and left.
It was only after he was gone that the employee realized the expensive leather jacket was gone.
‘Lush worker’ veteran
It is a story that happens all too often to passengers sleeping or drunk on the train — a “lush worker” uses their razor to slice a pocket and get away with the victim’s stuff.
In this case, however, the target — a 36-year-old Queens man — woke up on the E train while the thief was trying to cut his pocket and get his $600 iPhone 6 at the Spring St. station on Sat., Sept. 5 at 5:05 a.m., police say.
The lush worker fled but was caught by transit police at the W. 4th St. station. The victim was brought in to identify the thief and the suspect was arrested. Police say the man arrested, a 44-year-old Brooklyn resident — is a frequent offender.
Grand lost buying Grande latte?
A Brooklyn man may have lost track of his wallet with just over $1,000 in it at a Tribeca Starbucks, police say.
The man, 34, remembers last having his brown ostrich wallet to buy a drink at the Starbucks at 291 Broadway on Sun., Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m., police say. He left and while walking around, he realized his wallet was gone.
Citi Bike dock woe
A Chelsea woman tried leaving her Citi Bike at a Tribeca station and thought she had succeeded, but alas, someone made off the $1,200 bike, police say.
The woman, 52, docked the bike at Laight and Hudson Sts. on Tues., Sept. 8 at 9:30 a.m., but did not get the green confirmation light. She called CitiBike, who said they would send a rep to check. She left the bike and told police that she was unable to remove it so she thought it was secure.
However, she then got an email from Citi Bike saying the bike was not returned. When she went back to the station, the bike was gone.
– DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC
