By Tom Tracy
Fine Fare fiends Three gun-toting thieves raided the Fine Fare Supermarket last week, making off with over $600 in receipts, cops from the 76th Precinct said. Workers said that the suspects, described only as Hispanic males, entered the store, located on the 400 block of Columbia Street, at 6:40 p.m. on January 7 and pulled guns. The thieves forced the workers to hand over the money from the cash registers. Then they ran off into the night, harming no one, officials said. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this robbery to call the 76th Precinct at (718) 834-3211. All calls will be kept confidential. Double jeopardy Either the women in Carroll Gardens are made of sturdier stuff, or this thief needs to find another line of work. Police are looking for a gun-toting thief who was rejected not once, but twice, by two women he tried to rob along Degraw Street last week. Cops were told that the Hispanic male grabbed his first would-be victim, 33, at the corner of Degraw and Clinton streets just before 8:15 p.m. on January 7. The suspect allegedly put his arm around the woman’s neck and placed the muzzle of his gun on her cheek, but the woman never gave in and fought him off, officials said. The thief fled empty-handed, only to find a 28-year-old woman at the corner of Degraw Street and Tompkins Place. Police said that the suspect grabbed the woman, only to be shoved aside, officials said. Cutting his losses, the thief fled the area, said police, who added that the man was last seen jumping into a light-colored car. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this man’s whereabouts to call police at (718) 834-3211. All calls will be kept confidential. Robbed on bridge A 26-year-old man was robbed of his book bag, cash and cell phone as he crossed the Henry Street bridge toward Red Hook. The victim told police that he had made it mid-way across the span at 8:30 p.m. on January 3 when a black male wearing a dark-colored sweater and skull cap struck him in the face and ran off with his property. The thief was last seen running eastbound on the bridge toward Hamilton Avenue, officials said. Saw thieves sought Police are looking for the thief who stole two construction grade saws from a 1996 Ford Windstar parked on the 500 block of Court Street Saturday. The victim told police that he parked the car at 10:20 p.m. on January 6. He returned about 40 minutes later to find that someone had busted a middle window and removed the two pieces of equipment, which were valued at $220, officials said. Locked from inside A 42-year-old man returned to his 1st Place apartment last week to find that his door was locked from the inside — by a burglar that had raided his residence, police were told. The tenant told police that he had exited his home at 2:30 p.m. on January 5. He locked his door, but left his bathroom window opened a crack. He returned at 8 p.m. unlocked his door, but still couldn’t get inside, he said. Someone inside the apartment had braced the door with a chair, barring any entry. The victim finally managed to enter his home, only to find it ransacked. His iBook laptop computer, cell phone, binoculars and over $200 in cash and loose change were missing, officials said. Shot on New Year’s Just two hours after the ball fell in Times Square, cops were responding to the nearby Gowanus Houses, where an area man had been shot, officials reported. Police said that the 20-year-old victim was with a group of males outside the Hoyt Street housing project at 2:30 a.m. when he and his friends got involved in an argument with another group. During an ensuing scuffle, someone pulled a gun and opened fire, striking the 20-year-old in the stomach, officials said. The victim was rushed to Bellevue Hospital where he was listed in stable condition after treatment. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. ATM scammers sought Two opportunistic thieves are being sought for conning a woman into leaving an ATM machine she had just entered her PIN number into and then emptying her account, officials announced this week. The two men, who were snapped up by a bank surveillance camera, approached their victim at the Municipal Credit Union at 310 Jay Street at 4 p.m. on October 9 and approached their victim just as she had put in her PIN number. The suspects informed the woman that the machine wasn’t working and that she should use another one. The victim followed their suggestion, went to another ATM, then left. The suspects then went to the “malfunctioning” ATM and removed an undisclosed amount of money from her account, which was still on the screen. Cops identified the two thieves as black males in their mid twenties. Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is urged to call the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. Wipe out graffiti As the ongoing war against graffiti continues, a $500 reward is being offered to anyone with information about graffiti vandals in their neighborhoods. 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. Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism is urged to contact either 311 or 911. Parking pains A man was struck in the face with a pipe during an argument over a parking spot, cops from the 84th Precinct said this week. The victim said that he had parked in a spot behind 74 4th Avenue at 8:40 a.m. on January 3 when another man told him that he would have to move his car. When the victim said that the stranger had to wait, the man went into a nearby building, returned with the pipe and started swinging. The victim suffered a deep cut to his head during the ensuing scuffle, officials said. His assailant was last seen leaving the area in a white Toyota, officials were told. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 84th Precinct at (718) 875-6811. All calls will be kept confidential. Patted down When this man was arrested, he didn’t have far to go. In fact, the alleged mugger was already in a holding cell, charged with robbing a fellow inmate. Police said that the suspect, 21-year-old Michael Hawley, was waiting to appear before the judge at a new court part inside 120 Schermerhorn Street at 5:30 a.m. on January 4 when he allegedly robbed a 49-year-old man sharing the cell with him. Hawley had struck the victim and robbed him of $89 before court officers took action, officials were told. Midas the magician A 21-year-old man was arrested last week on charges that he tried to take a $9,500 gold chain from a DeKalb Avenue jewelry store. Officials alleged that Theodore Jemmott was looking over the merchandise inside Goldmine Jewelry Inc., 1 DeKalb Street, at 6:30 p.m. on January 6 when he asked to see the costly chain. Jemmott allegedly tried to palm the chain and walk out with it when a worker activated the electronic locks to the door, barring him from exiting. Security guards held Jemmott at bay until cops from the 84th Precinct could take him into custody, charging him with grand larceny. Food line fight A 46-year-old man was arrested at a neighborhood food pantry for allegedly slashing another customer with a box-cutter, officials said. Carl Choisy was taken into custody moments after the attack, which police said took place at 9:30 a.m. on January 6. The victim said that he was on line inside the pantry, located at 510 Atlantic Avenue, when Choisy allegedly started yelling at him about his place in line. The argument reached its boiling point when Choisy pulled his box-cutter and attacked, officials allege. The victim suffered a deep cut to his arm, cops were told.
