By Tom Tracy
Help find her Investigators are looking for a 77-year-old area woman who has been missing since February 19. Officials said that Zinaida Vaynberg-Shapaner was last seen that Tuesday afternoon at a pharmacy at 395 Avenue X. The senior is described as 5’6’, 177 pounds with green eyes and gray hair. She was last seen wearing a green hooded jacket with white fur, blue jeans, white sneakers and a grey wool hat. She was also carrying a white bag, investigators were told. Officials are asking anyone with information regarding this woman’s whereabouts to call the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. Hooligans cause heartache A 23-year-old woman and her two friends are being sought for duping an area man into meeting them in Sheepshead Bay, where they stabbed him and robbed him of his cash, phone and car, officials said. The victim, who is also 23, said that he was at a friend’s house just after 5 a.m. on February 23 when he received a phone call from the young woman, who wanted to meet up with him at the corner of East 16th Street and Avenue Z. When the victim arrived, the girl was there, as well as two thugs armed with knives who ordered him out of his car. The thieves reportedly held a knife to the man’s throat, then stabbed him in the chest as they pulled him out of his Buick and took his cell phone and about $125 in cash. The thieves, and the girl, were last seen fleeing the area in the victim’s car. Police said that the victim was taken to Lutheran Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition after treatment. Anyone with information regarding this attack is urged to call the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential. Caught on site A 25-year-old thief was apprehended last week when he was caught inside a Gravesend home he was allegedly burglarizing, officials said. Alex Hernandez was taken into custody when he was allegedly found inside the West 10th Street home near Highlawn Avenue at 11 p.m. on February 15. Cops were told that Hernandez allegedly entered the home through a patio window, damaging two screens as he entered. He was allegedly in the rear of the home when cops were called to the scene, officials from the 62nd Precinct said. Taking clubbing literally Three lethal ladies are being sought for attacking another woman as all of them partied at Evolution, a 62nd Street club near 15th Avenue, police said. Police from the 62nd Precinct said that they were still looking for the three white suspects, who sashayed out of the club with their victim’s purse after they had repeatedly punched her and hit her in the head with a Snapple bottle. The entire ordeal unfolded inside the club at 4:30 a.m. on February 16. Despite her injuries, the woman called a cab and went to a neighboring police precinct to tell cops what had happened, officials said. Molested during robbery Cops are looking for a thief who groped a 27-year-old woman as he tried to rob her at a Sheepshead Bay corner, officials said. Police were told that the victim was passing the corner of Avenue V and East 8th Street at 11:20 p.m. on February 22 when the unidentified male grabbed her inappropriately. The thief then tried to grab the woman’s bag, officials were told. When the victim screamed, the thief ran off. No injuries were reported. Thug search Cops are looking for an unidentified black male wanted for beating a 32-year-old woman during a robbery on 61st Street near 16th Avenue. The victim said that the thief followed her into a lobby of a building just after 1 p.m. on February 19 when he mercilessly began punching her in the face and the body. The thief tried to rob the woman of her bag, but the victim wouldn’t let the bag go. Realizing that he was in for a tougher fight than he expected, the thief ran off empty-handed, officials said. The victim was not seriously harmed, cops were told. The mugger was still at large as this paper went to press. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential. Fire rips through Gerritsen Flames were seen as high as the trees in Gerritsen Beach last week after a rampant brush fire spread across the area. Officials said that the all-hands blaze exploded on the scene near the corner of Gerritsen Avenue and Florence Street at about 10 p.m. on February 19. At its apex, flames could be seen as high as the trees, witnesses said. Firefighters had a tough time putting out the blaze since a rig specially designed to handle brush fires ended up getting stuck in the mud as it rolled toward the blaze. A second pumper truck ultimately needed to be dispatched to put the fire out. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known as this paper went to press. Snapped with buckle A 41-year-old woman was arrested in Bensonhurst last week after police learned that she had attacked her 13-year-old boy with a belt buckle. Officials said that the woman, whose name was not disclosed, smacked the child in the knee during a scuffle inside their home on 76th Street near 20th Avenue. The boy suffered a small injury to his knee during the February 17 attack, but was otherwise uninjured, police said. His mother was taken into custody, charged with assault. Someone’s at the door A 47-year-old man told police that someone tried to break into his Bath Beach home as he rested inside. The victim said that he was inside his Bay 8th Street address near Independence Avenue on the afternoon of February 13 when he heard someone trying to kick in his front door. After a few attempts, the would-be thief gave up and left, leaving a damaged door in his wake. While the victim was initially startled, he waited until February 18 to report what had happened, police noted. Train takers celled Two teens – believed to be brothers – were arrested last week for allegedly holding up a Bensonhurst straphanger at knifepoint, officials said. Police said that the victim was waiting at the New Utrecht Avenue train platform near 62nd Street at 7:30 p.m. on February 18 when 17-year-old Albert Torres and his younger sibling allegedly approached and ordered him to hand over his phone and money. When the victim refused, one of the two teens allegedly pulled a knife and threatened him with it, cops were told. The victim ultimately handed his cell phone and $40 in cash to the two alleged thieves, who were apprehended a short time later and charged with robbery. The 15-year-old accomplice’s name wasn’t released because of his age.
