Crime Report: Home Robberies, Assault Arrests and a Masked Thief

A 42-year-old woman told police that her boyfriend threatened her with a baseball bat and stole a Toshiba laptop, a Sprint Galaxy 3, a Wii, a 42-inch television and a 27-inch television from her apartment in the Walt Whitman Houses on May 18. She said that her boyfriend said, “I have a bullet for you,” and made her carry her belongings to his car.

Including the above crime, six felonies and two arrests were reported in the 88th Precinct between May 18 and May 25. Locals reported a robbery by a masked man, assault and thefts from homes.

Theft in the Walt Whitman Houses

A masked man robbed a 35-year-old woman in a staircase in the Walt Whitman Houses on May 19 at 1:30 p.m. She told police that she was waiting for the elevator and decided to take the stairs. When she entered the staircase, she saw the thief and went back to the elevator. The thief, who was holding a brick wrapped in a black cloth, followed her to the elevator and said, “Give me your phone and drop your purse.” He grabbed her iPhone 4 and her Apple earbuds and ran up the stairs. Police searched but could not find the thief.

Assault Arrests

Police arrested Kadeem Harris, 21, and James Anderson, 18, for allegedly shoving a 39-year-old woman to the ground and attempting to steal her purse as she was walking on South Oxford Street near Hanson Place on May 25 at 1 a.m. The woman was treated for bruises and cuts to her knees by Emergency Medical Technicians. Harris and Anderson are charged with attempted robbery in the second and third degrees, assault in the second and third degrees, attempted assault in the third degree, attempted petit larceny, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Thefts in the Ingersoll Houses

Three men stole a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion laptop from a 68-year-old woman while she was home watching television in her apartment in the Ingersoll Houses on May 20 at 4 p.m. She told police that she had left her door unlocked because several apartments were being renovated upstairs. Police said the thieves were seen running out of the building.

About two hours later, a thief stole a iMac computer and a Sony Playstation 4 from a 30-year-old man’s unlocked apartment in the Ingersoll Houses. He told police that contractors were renovating his apartment while he was out, and were supposed to tell his neighbor when they were done so he could lock the door. When he came back to his apartment at 7 p.m., he found his door still unlocked and his belongings missing. Police could not say if there is a connection with the earlier theft.

Telephone Theft

Police said a man picked the front door lock of a condominium building on Clermont Avenue near Willoughby Avenue and stole $300 worth of telephones from the lobby on May 23 at 2:30 a.m. Video surveillance shows the thief also tried to steal a TV monitor, police said.