By Tom Tracy
Reported missing Cops are asking for the public’s help in locating a 43-year-old Sheepshead Bay man who has been missing for nearly three months. Police said that James Blaustein, a resident of the 2400 block of East 29th Street, was last seen at his home by his mother on November 5. She didn’t report his disappearance until January 26, officials said. Police said that the 5’10”, 110-pound Blaustein, who was last spotted wearing a black leather jacket, black turtleneck, blue jeans and black sneakers, suffers from both schizophrenia and depression. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding his whereabouts to call the NYPD CrimeStoppers number at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. What you leave behind A sticky-palmed thief who robbed a 62-year-old woman of her handbag at the corner of Benson and 21st avenues in Bath Beach Saturday may end up with frostbitten fingers after dropping his glove during his getaway. Police said that the woman walked into the 62nd Precinct shortly after the 6 p.m. robbery on January 27 with the thief’s glove, wanting to file a report. The woman explained that she was walking past the corner when the thug ran up to her and snagged her handbag. The two struggled, but the thief got the upper hand. After, of course, he dropped his glove. As of this writing, cops were looking for the thief, who is described only as a 16-year-old black male. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential. The pen is mightier Police are looking for a bandit wanted for robbing an area bank as well as three other financial institutions in the borough during a slew of heists that stretch back to last January. Investigators believe that 43-year-old James McDonald is responsible for holding up the Independence Savings Bank at 234 Prospect Place in Windsor Terrace on January 21, 2006, the North Fork Bank at 7120 New Utrecht Avenue in Bensonhurst on March 16, 2006, the Doral Bank at 478 5th Avenue in Park Slope this past January 17 and, most recently, the North Fork Bank at 4612 13th Avenue in Borough Park on January 21. In each case, he walked into the bank, handed a threatening note to a teller and ran off with an undisclosed amount of property. McDonald is described as a 5’8” white male between 180 and 190 pounds with blue eyes, medium build and has short, balding hair. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this man to call the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. Needing a correction A New York City Department of Corrections officer was arrested in Sheepshead Bay last week on charges that she had left her four small children unsupervised for up to three hours. Police said that Rina Dorley-Amos was taken into custody at 11:30 p.m. on January 26, charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The charges stem from an incident on January 16, when she allegedly left her children, ages 2, 4, 5, 7, at home for three hours without any supervision. More bank blues Cops are looking for the thieves who broke into the Chase Bank at 8415 Bay Parkway during an early-morning raid. Witnesses told police that three unidentified thieves took a crowbar to a glass door inside the bank’s lobby in order to get inside. After scouring the area, the thieves took an undetermined amount of change from a locker and ran off. The break-in took place just after 6:30 a.m. on January 22. Anyone with information regarding this theft is urged to contact the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential. Hair-raising experience A 25-year-old woman was one of a handful of victims robbed at gunpoint during a daring raid at a Gravesend salon last week. The woman told police that she was getting her hair done inside the Millennium Hair Studio, 12 Avenue S, at 8:30 p.m. on January 27 when two unidentified males entered the store and pulled guns, ordering everyone into a back bathroom. The suspects robbed the woman of her purse, which contained about $180 in cash as well as an unidentified amount of property from the salon before fleeing the scene. No injuries were reported. Up in smoke A 59-year-old man was robbed of two cartons of cigarettes as he left a distributor on the 1700 block of Bath Avenue. The victim said that three white males jumped him at 4 p.m. on January 25 just after he left the distributor. The suspects shoved him forward, forcing him to fall, scooped up the two cartons and ran off, officials said. Cinder blockhead busted It was raining cinderblocks on Cyrus Avenue in Gerritsen Beach Saturday morning when a 26-year-old resident was charged with throwing them at a car, injuring the man inside. The 54-year-old victim, a resident of Dare Court, said that he was on the 50 block of Cyrus Avenue at 2 a.m. on January 27 when Robert Geoghan of the 50 block of Fane Court allegedly lobbed the cinderblock at his vehicle. The cinderblock smashed into the driver’s side window, leaving the victim with a deep cut to the left side of his face. Geoghan was charged with assault. It was unclear as this paper went to press what prompted the alleged attack. Truant terror A teenage girl from Canarsie was arrested last week for punching and biting two truant officers trying to take her back to school. The officers allege that they were passing the corner of Avenue X and Coyle Street at 9:30 a.m. on January 22 when they saw Sharnice Cyprien, 17, of the 1240 block of East 86th Street, walking through the neighborhood when she should have been in class. The cops stopped Cyprien and had just begun to question her when she allegedly “began using obscene language and caused a big scene,” cops from the 61st Precinct were told. When the officers tried to take her into custody, she began flailing her arms, hitting one of the officers in the lower lip, police alleged. She allegedly bit one of the officer’s fingers as the cop tried to secure her in the truancy van, officials allege. Cops charged Cyprien with assault. Handy man hazard A 38-year-old man was arrested last week, charged with stealing cash and jewelry from a home he was working on. The victim, 83, told police that he had hired a contractor to do some work on his apartment, located on the 8000 block of Bay Parkway about a week ago. On January 27, he approached the contractor, complaining that one of the men he had hired to do the work had removed some cash and jewelry. The contractor searched his workers tool boxes only to discover the stolen jewelry allegedly secreted in the box used by suspect Luis Tirado. No money was found, officials said. Tirado was charged with grand larceny. “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. Gunned down in Flatlands One man was killed and three other were wounded when gunfire erupted in Flatlands early Sunday morning. Police said that one of the four men standing in front of 5501 Glenwood Road was hit five times during the 6 a.m. shooting on January 28, but ended up faring far better than his friend, 30-year-old Roger Maxwell, a resident of the 10200 block of Avenue K in Canarsie, who died at the hospital after being shot once in the chest. The 29-year-old unnamed victim – who took the brunt of the bullets flying toward the group and could have been the main target – was rushed to Kings County Hospital where he was in stable condition as of press time, investigators said. Two other men, ages 30 and 41, were each shot once and were listed in stable condition after treatment at Brookdale Hospital. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Tipsters, police said, could receive up to $2,000 if their information leads them to the shooter’s arrest and indictment. Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. More than 7 or 11 Over $1,500 in receipts was stolen during a daring gunpoint robbery at the 7-Eleven located near the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Avenue T, cops from the 61st Precinct were told. Workers said that they were in the store at 1:30 a.m. on January 27 when two unidentified males entered the store. One of the men pulled a gun and demanded everything from the register, officials said. Workers last saw the suspects fleeing down Nostrand Avenue toward Avenue U. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential.
