Teens arrested for attacking newsstand worker
Police arrested three teenagers, for throwing candy and then assaulting a 67-year-old newsstand worker at the corner of Pearl and Whitehall Sts. in the Financial District last week.
After the three threw the candy, police say the newsstand worker exited and approached them. The police interviewed five witnesses, two of whom said that they saw the three teenagers hitting the Bronx man, causing swelling and cutting his left thumb, on Tues., Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. One of the students was slashed in the face by the operator and he was charged with felony assualt, DNAinfo reported.
Police say all three teens — two 17 years old and one 18 — were students at the New York Harbor School on Governors Island.
Drunk van thief nabbed at checkpoint
A man was arrested for stealing a delivery van after being stopped at a police checkpoint last month near City Hall. As a companion, police say he had an 18-pack of Bud in the passenger seat — with six cans already drunk.
It all started at 6:15 a.m. on Fri., Oct. 24, when a 44-year-old employee of A&M Tasty Snack Inc., was fixing his load in the back of his van on State St. Meanwhile, the 45-year-old suspect jumped into the van, which had the keys into the ignition, and took off.
The employee flagged a taxi and followed the van, losing it somewhere in the vicinity at Montgomery and Madison St. Police set up a checkpoint at Vesey St., which the suspect, from Staten Island, tried to avoid by turning left on Ann St.
Police say they stopped the suspect and he admitted to having a few beers in the morning. The Tasty Snack employee was brought to the scene, police say, and said, “Yes, that is the guy that stole my truck.”
The suspect planned on selling the 2008 yellow G.M. van, worth more than $12,000, to a friend at Ave. D and 10th St., according to police. When the friend was a no-show, the suspect was trying to return the car to the place he took it from. The man was arrested at 10:14 a.m. and taken to the Seventh Precinct.
Glass on glass crime nets Vuitton bag
A thief used a glass wine bottle to smash a front glass display window and take a Louis Vuitton purse worth $5,150 early Sunday morning in Soho.
Police say the incident took place at 1:45 a.m. on Sun., Nov. 2 at the Louis Vuitton store at 116 Greene St. between Prince and Spring Sts. The store has video surveillance only for the inside.
Trick and Trick
A Japanese tourist had her $300 wallet with a $150 in it stolen while she watched the beginning of the Halloween Parade at the corner of Canal St. and 6th Ave. in Tribeca on Fri., Oct 31 at 7 p.m. The 32-year-old reported the gold Coach wallet missing the next day.
Motorcycle stolen
A Tribeca man parked his $14,000 black Ducati motorcycle on 98 Charlton St. at 6 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 30. When he came back three days later at 7 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 2, the bike was gone. Police say that the bike’s alarm was transmitted but a canvass yielded no results.
Subway bandit caught
A “lush worker,” those who prey on the sleeping and inebriated on trains, was caught in the act when a police officer saw the Queens man remove a $100 Apple iPhone 4S from a sleeping woman’s front right pants pocket on the E train last weekend at the World Trade Center.
Police arrested the 44-year-old on the W.T.C. subway platform around 2:30 p.m. on Sun., Nov. 2. Police say the officer recovered the phone from the suspect’s pants.
Citi Bike stolen
Police arrested a 24-year-old man after stopping him for running a red while riding a Citi Bike at the intersection of 8th Ave. and W. 39th St. on Tues., Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.
After checking with Citi Bike, the police learned that the man was not the authorized renter and that the $1,200 bike was last docked near Stuyvesant High School at West and Chambers St.
Bump & run with purses
While a Brooklyn woman attended to her five-year-old nephew in the Financial District two weeks ago, a thief got away with her purse and $771 worth of stuff after bumping into her.
The 42-year-old woman said she realized the purse was gone after going to purchase something from a vendor in front of 2 Cortlandt St. around 5:40 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 21. Inside the bag was a $600 digital camera and credit cards, which the woman cancelled. Police say no unauthorized charges were made.
In a different Financial District incident, soon after a German tourist disembarked from the Staten Island ferry, she realized her $400 iPhone 5S was stolen from front right sweater pocket after a man bumped into her at Broad and Water Sts. at about 4 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 26. The 24-year-old told police that the phone’s battery may have run out, and the Find My Phone app did not work.
Ever-patient Zipcar reports theft
A 2015 silver sedan Cadillac Zipcar, worth $38,500, was last seen at a Tribeca garage at 270 Greenwich St. around 1 p.m. on Aug. 13. The employee who reported the theft on Sat., Oct. 25 said the company was waiting for the car to be returned.
The car’s G.P.S system has been disabled. Zipcar said that the car had been rented with a fraudulent credit card. Police say there is no video available and a canvass yielded no result.
—Dusica Sue Malesevic
