By Tom Tracy
Robbed of cell phone A Sunset Park woman had her cell phone ripped from her grasp last week as she walked past the corner of Colonial Road and 85th Street, officials said. The victim said that she was chatting on her phone just after 11 a.m. on January 16 when two black teens ran past her at breakneck speeds. One of the suspects punched her in the face, grabbed her phone and ran off with his partner. The entire ordeal lasted only seconds, officials said. Witnesses saw the two suspects enter a building on the 400 block of 84th Street. The suspects were still at large as this paper went to press. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 68th Precinct at (718) 439-4211. All calls will be kept confidential. Ebayer beware Investigators are looking into a Bay Ridge man’s claims that an unscrupulous on-line seller bilked him of $8,000. The victim, a 56-year-old resident of 72nd Street, told police that he thought that he was buying a pristine 1969 Chevrolet Camaro from the seller, known only as Motors, Ltd., but ended up with nothing but a broken heart. The Bay Ridge car buff said that he agreed to purchase the car on January 11 through Ebay Motors. The payment was deposited into the bank account given by the seller, but the buyer was allegedly told a few days later that the group he was doing business with was a fraudulent company. The company, which looked legitimate on the screen, was using Ebay as a front, the victim was told. Rectory raid An area woman told police that someone crept into the rectory of Our Lady of Angels, 7320 4th Avenue, and made off with her purse last week. The woman said that she had placed her purse on a desk inside the rectory office at 3:10 p.m. on January 18 before taking a bathroom break. She returned to the office a few minutes later to discover that someone had stolen her bag. About $40 in the cash was inside, officials said. Water meter thieves Thieves broke into the shuttered Regina Nursing Home at 1232 67th Street, taking an assortment of pipes, as well as a water meter, cops from the 68th Precinct were told last week. Police that that the Dyker Heights building was unoccupied and in the process of being torn down last week when someone broke into the property through a side door. The suspect removed the pipes and the water meter and ran off, officials said. The burglary was reported to authorities on the morning of January 16. Rooftop raiders A group of gymnastic goons are being sought for rappelling their way into a Bensonhurst Met Food, cops from the 62nd Precinct said. Workers at the supermarket, located at 7215 20th Avenue, told police that someone cut a hole through the roof of the building and then lowered themselves into the store sometime after closing at 9 p.m. on January 21. The thieves then broke into a back office, taking an undisclosed amount of money, officials said. Con artists sought Cops are looking for two women who conned their way into a senior’s home, making off with $350 in cash and $500 in jewelry. The 83-year-old victim told police that the two unidentified women came to her apartment door on the 200 block of Ovington Avenue at 10:30 a.m. on January 6, asking to be let in so they could leave a note for a relative who lives down the hall. As one of the women sat down to write the note, the other reportedly wandered around the apartment, spending some time in the senior’s bathroom. The woman did not realize that she had been robbed until after the two women left, officials said. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this theft to call the 68th Precinct at (718) 439-4211. All calls will be kept confidential. Robbed at drop-off A 17-year-old was attacked and robbed of his wallet as he made a delivery to a building on the 200 block of Ovington Avenue, cops from the 68th Precinct were told. Police said that the victim entered the building at 7:30 p.m. on January 9 when he was jumped by a group of 15 males. The teens took the victim’s wallet and $75 in cash before fleeing, officials said. The teen was not seriously harmed, officials said. Help wipe out graffiti As the ongoing war against graffiti vandals continues, cops are now offering up to $500 in reward money to anyone who can offer them information that can lead them to anyone who commits graffiti vandalism. The hefty reward is part of the city’s new push to rid New York of graffiti vandals. Graffiti is one of the leading quality of life complaints brought to police. Officials said that cleaning up graffiti is essential to the plan, to show that the community is no longer going to tolerate marred and tagged-up walls and street corners. According to police there is a perception that if a community will tolerate graffiti, they will tolerate other criminal activities, such as drug dealing and prostitution. Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism is urged to contact either 311 or 911. “Sorry” robber sought Police in Bensonhurst are looking for a 22-year-old white man who apologized profusely before pulling a gun and robbing a clerk at an area store. Police said that the man entered Sohpie Grocery, 6607 Bay Parkway, and threw a black bag on the counter. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I need money.” The clerk said that the suspect, whose face was covered with a black muffler, pulled a gun from his waistband and ordered him to empty the money from the register into the bag. A total of $1,300 was taken during the 3:30 a.m. robbery on January 21, officials said. No injuries were reported. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this heist to call the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential. Don’t answer the door A 24-year-old man was robbed of his cash and jewelry after he innocently answered the door to his Sheepshead Bay home Saturday, officials said this week. The victim said that he was in his home, located on the 4600 block of Bedford Avenue at 11:30 p.m. on January 20 when someone rang his bell. When he answered, an unidentified white male forced his way in, striking the victim in the head with a screwdriver. The stranger then pulled a gun, ordering his victim to lie on the floor. But, as the thief looked about the home for valuables, the victim ran out the front door and called 911 on his cell phone. The thief ran off, taking the victim’s Rolex watch, another cell phone and about $300 in cash. As of this writing, cops were still looking for the thief. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential. Rooftop raiders A group of gymnastic goons are being sought for rappelling their way into a Bensonhurst Met Food, cops from the 62nd Precinct said. Workers at the supermarket, located at 7215 20th Avenue, told police that someone cut a hole through the roof of the building and then lowered themselves into the store sometime after closing at 9 p.m. on January 21. The thieves then broke into a back office, taking an undisclosed amount of money, officials said. Show and steal Workers at an area Eckerd’s told police that a thief came into the store Saturday afternoon and “showed off” his gun before robbing the place of its receipts. “Look what I got,” workers at the store, located at 2221 65th Street, recalled the thief saying as he pulled his gun and ordered a clerk to empty the register at 2:55 p.m. on January 20. When the employee opened the cash drawer, the suspect reached over, grabbed $70 in cash and ran off without hurting anyone, officials said. Purse pinch A 37-year-old Sheepshead Bay woman told police last week that someone made off with her purse as she walked down the 2300 block of East 2nd Street. Police were told that the woman was nearing Avenue X at 10:15 p.m. on January 19 when the thief, described only as a 40-year-old black male, ran by, ripping the purse from her hands. The suspect continued running down the block, ultimately turning on Avenue X, officials said. His victim suffered an injury to her hand during the confrontation, but was otherwise unharmed, officials said. Fiendishly unfashionable Two gun-toting thieves burst into a Bay Parkway hair salon last week, ordering a worker and three customers to a back room before raiding the place of its receipts. Police from the 62nd Precinct said that Unique Fashion For U, located at 6222 Bay Parkway, was open for business at 10:10 p.m. on January 19 when the two males rushed in with their guns drawn. The gunmen ushered their victims into a small back room and ordered to lie face-down on the door, telling them to be “good girls so nobody gets hurt,” police were told. The suspects fled with the employee’s purse. Nothing else was taken, officials said. All that glitters Over $10,000 in jewelry was removed from a Bedford Avenue senior’s home last weekend, cops from the 61st Precinct were told. The 75-year-old homeowner told police that he and his wife left their home on the 4400 block of Bedford Avenue at 1 p.m. on January 20 to visit their nephew. The couple returned at 8:30 p.m., only to discover that someone had forced open their kitchen window. Police said that the thief scoured the house until he reached the bedroom, where he found the couple’s jewelry. Bank basher A not-so-swift thief learned a valuable lesson about banking last week: night deposit boxes are for deposits, not withdrawals. Officials at the Chase Bank at 2623 East 17th Street in Sheepshead Bay told police last week that someone attempted to gain entry to the night deposit box — to no avail — during the early-morning hours of January 16. Witnesses say that the thief tried to force open the drawer to the night deposit box just before 3:30 a.m. but soon gave up and fled the area empty-handed.
