By Tom Tracy
Robbery derailed A 40-year-old man was arrested last week on charges that he threw a 31-year-old man onto the tracks at the Hoyt/Schermerhorn Street Street station during a failed bid for the man’s laptop computer. Cops from the 84th Precinct allege that the victim was on the train platform at 5 a.m. on February 1 when he was jumped by Alexis Mercado. Police allege that Mercado punched his victim in the face as he tried to wrest the laptop computer from his hand. During the struggle, the suspect allegedly pushed his victim onto the subway tracks, where he reportedly just missed hitting the third rail. The victim managed to get off the track bed before a train arrived in the station. Cops called to the scene arrested Mercado, who was charged with attempted robbery. Robbed on Montague A 14-year-old girl from Sackett Street was robbed of her cell phone as she passed the corner of Montague and Court streets, police from the 84th Precinct said last week. Cops were told that the teen was walking past the corner at 7:30 p.m. on January 31 when the unidentified thief grabbed her arm. The thief took the Motorola cell phone right out of her hand and ran off with it, said police. Two with one push A 33-year-old woman and her young daughter were both knocked to the ground during a robbery at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street. The victim, a resident of Stillwell Avenue in Gravesend, said that she and her toddler, who was in a stroller, were walking by the corner just before 3 p.m. on January 30 when an unidentified man grabbed them from behind. The thief knocked both the woman and the stroller to the ground during a struggle for his victim’s bag. The woman’s daughter was thrown from the stroller when it was knocked over, officials said. As the woman scrambled to get her daughter, the suspect scooped up her pocketbook, as well as the $900 in cash, credit cards and cell phone inside, and ran off. No injuries were reported. Stealing from the source Workers at ATM World at 70 4th Avenue – a distributor that rents ATMs to stores throughout downtown Brooklyn – told police last week that someone has figured out a way to manipulate the electronic bean counters inside their machines. The cunning thief somehow managed to crack the system and alter the value of the denominations inside the ATM, making the device think that each $20 bill it spit out was worth only $5. Workers at ATM World said that the thief hit a handful of ATM’s with a number of cards. It’s estimated that the thief managed to bilk the company out of over $6,900. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Calls can be made to the 84th Precinct at (718) 875-6811. All calls will be kept confidential. Meter mishap A 60-year-old woman gave a car thief an open invitation last week when she left her car unlocked and running as she ran into a store to get change for a parking meter. The woman told police that she had just parked her 1999 Toyota Corolla in a spot near the corner of Schermerhorn and Court streets at 11 a.m. on January 30 when she went hunting for change. When she returned, presumably with quarters in hand, she realized that she didn’t have to feed the meter — her car was no longer there, officials said. iPod rob A 13-year-old boy was robbed of his iPod as he exited a department store near the corner of Boerum Place and Atlantic Avenue. The victim said that he had just exited the store at 7:45 p.m. on February 3 when three unidentified males approached him and demanded his property. The suspects punched the victim in the face and ran off with his iPod, officials said. No serious injuries were reported. Locker looted A 32-year-old man finished his work out at the gym inside the YMCA at 225 Atlantic Avenue last week only to discover that someone had busted his locker wide open. Approximately $30 in cash, as well as the victim’s wallet and credit cards were taken during the theft, which took place between 6 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. on January 31. The victim, a resident of Prospect Place, said that he had locked his locker before his workout. When he returned, his locker was unlocked and several of his personal items were missing. Some of the items were later found in gym trash bin. His cash and credit cards were never found, officials said. Nabbed in daddy stab A 22-year-old woman was arrested last week on charges that she stabbed the father of her children during an argument at a local train station. The woman, who police identified as Midyette Luxcisen, allegedly attacked her victim during an argument the two had on a train platform at the Hoyt/Schermerhorn Street station. The victim, a resident of Queens, was stabbed in the shoulder and was listed in stable condition after treatment. Luxcisen was charged with assault. Long-distance looting A 49-year-old woman told police that someone had taken her cell phone and used it to make over $600 worth of calls to Morocco. The woman told police that she discovered her phone missing as she stood outside a building on the 100 block of Pierrepont Street at 3:30 p.m. on January 30. When questioned, however, she admitted that she last used the phone in Midtown Manhattan and could have lost the phone during her travels throughout the day. The woman later discovered that whoever took or found the phone had used it to make several long distance calls Listen up A 16-year-old girl was robbed of her cell phone and iPod after engaging in a conversation with another teen who told her, quite bluntly, “I’m going to rob you.” The victim said that she was on a 2 train rumbling past the corner of Joralemon and Court streets at 8:30 p.m. on January 29 when the three teenage girls walked up to her. “What are you listening to?” one of the girls asked. When the girl responded with, “Nothing you like,” the robbery was announced and the three girls pounced as the train made its way to the Borough Hall station. The three girls ran off of the train once the doors opened, officials said. No injuries were reported. Sovereign steal Cops are looking for the thief who held up a Sovereign Bank last week. Police said that the thief, described as a 6’, 200-pound black male wearing a black waist length jacket and blue baseball cap, entered the bank, located on Court Street between Pacific Street and Atlantic Avenue at 9:45 a.m. on January 22 and handed a teller a threatening note. “Give me all your money,” the note read. “I have a gun.” The thief walked out of the bank with over $2,000 as well as his note, which he demanded back, officials said. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Calls can be made to 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. U-Hauled away Workers at an area U-Haul depot told police last week that a thief made off with one of their vans. A worker told police that he was doing an inventory of the yard, located on the 300 block of 4th Avenue just after 7 p.m. on January 29 when he saw the thief drive off with the van. The keys to the 2006 Ford van were in the ignition when it was taken, workers explained.
