Crime Report: Smartphone Thefts, Thefts from Cars and Homes

Police arrested Donnell Whitehead, 23, and Kenwan Givens, 19 for allegedly trying to rob a 19-year-old man at gunpoint in his apartment in the Walt Whitman Houses on April 10. The man told police that he and three other men were in his apartment at noon when Whitehead allegedly pointed a gun at him and said, “I’ll shoot you, give me all your shit.” Givens allegedly grabbed a hammer and broke the lock to the man’s bedroom door. The third man, whom the 19-year-old said was called Buster, broke the door in. The men fled the apartment without taking any property when his mother called 911. During a police search, the man pointed out Whitehead at 24 Monument Walk and Givens on Myrtle Avenue and North Portland Avenue. Police said they did not find the gun.

Whitehead is charged with attempted robbery in the first, second and third degrees, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, attempted petit larceny, attempted possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, menacing in the third degree, harassment in the second degree, criminal possession of marijuana in the fifth degree and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Givens is charged with attempted robbery in the first, second and third degrees, menacing in the second and third degrees, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, attempted petit larceny, attempted criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the DA’s office.

Including the above crime, 23 felonies and five arrests were reported in the 88th Precinct between April 3 and April 13. Locals reported thefts from cars, smartphone thefts and thefts from homes.

Food Delivery Robbery

A 21-year-old food delivery man told police on April 7 that a customer robbed him when he delivered food to an apartment on Lefferts Place near Grand Avenue at 9 p.m. He said that when he went to deliver their food, the thief pretended he had a gun, took the food and $349 in cash and fled in a black Nissan.

Robbery in the Walt Whitman Houses

A 67-year-old man told police on April 9 that he was waylaid, punched in the face and robbed by a thief who was standing outside the elevator as he exited on the sixth floor of his building in the Walt Whitman Houses at 10 p.m. on April 9. He said the thief went through his pockets, and took his benefit identification card and senior Metrocard. The man received medical attention from Emergency Medical Technicians on scene. A neighbor found his benefit card on the sixth floor later. Police searched but could not find the thief.

Robbery in the Ingersoll Houses

A man and two women robbed a 30-year-old woman while she was walking in the Ingersoll Houses at 10:20 p.m. on April 11. She told police that the group approached her and the man grabbed her bag, containing a Sony PlayStation PSP and cellphone, and fled. Police said the woman was not injured.

Theft on Subway

A 19-year-old man told police on April 9 that he was exiting a southbound C-train at Fulton Street and Washington Avenue at 5 p.m. when he was robbed at knifepoint by three men who fled on the train.He said that they stole his black and grey bag, with his Indian passport, a polo t-shirt, and kitchen tools and chef’s knife from the Culinary Institute of America worth $1,390.

Smartphone Thefts

-A 39-year-old woman told police on April 7 that two teenage boys had snatched her smartphone while she was walking on DeKalb Avenue near Adelphi Street at 9 p.m. three days before. She said that the two boys, about age 15, came from behind and grabbed her on her Samsung Galaxy S4 while she was texting and fled on DeKalb Avenue. She told police that she had video surveillance of the thieves from a store on DeKalb Avenue.

-A man slapped a 27-year-old woman’s iPhone 5 out of her hand and grabbed it while she was walking home from the gym at 8:20 p.m. on Lafayette Avenue near South Portland Avenue on April 8.

-A 13-year-old boy told police on April 9 that three thieves stole his Samsung Galaxy phone two days before on Adelphi Street and near DeKalb Avenue. He said that they had surrounded him and one said, “Run your pockets or I’m going to beat you up,” before taking the cellphone from his pants pocket.

-Two men tried to steal a cellphone from a 15-year-old boy on April 10 while he was walking on Adelphi Street near Willoughby Avenue at 5:30 p.m. The boy told police said that the thieves approached him and one said that he would have the other beat him up if he didn’t give up his cellphone. When the boy refused, they fled south on Adelphi Street.

Assault

Police arrested Grant Johnson, 48, on April 9 for allegedly hitting his 48-year-old friend in the face with an umbrella and punching him while he was driving on Park Avenue near Navy Street the day before. The man told police that they had been arguing in the car when Johnson hit him. He received medical attention at the 84th Precinct. Johnson is charged with assault in the third degree, menacing in the second and third degrees, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Arrest at Tillary Street Women’s Shelter

Police arrested Michele Yuli, 35, on April 12 at the Tillary Street Women’s Shelter for allegedly hitting a police officer in the face when Yuli refused to leave the shelter. Police said that she was yelling curses and making threats and spat on the police officer. Yuli allegedly broke two windows in a police car after she was arrested. Yuli is charged with criminal trespass in the second and third degrees, obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, resisting arrest, trespass, criminal mischief in the fourth degree and disorderly conduct, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Assault on Police Officer

Jackie Morris, 52, was arrested for kicking a police officer in the knee on April 13. The officer had responded to a dispute between her and her sisters on South Portland Avenue near DeKalb Avenue when she kicked him, police said. Morris is charged with assault in the third degree, resisting arrest, attempted assault in the third degree, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Thefts from Homes

-A 26-year-old woman told police on April 10 that someone stole $2,700 worth of watches and jewelry from her apartment on Myrtle Avenue near Waverly Avenue during the day. She said she had left her apartment around 8 a.m. with her boyfriend and when she came back at 1:35 p.m. the lock to the apartment was unlatched. She said that she went inside and discovered that her Burberry watch, a white and yellow metal bracelet and necklace, Guess watch and Diesel watch were missing from a locker in her bedroom. The empty box for the Burberry watch was on her bed. Her roommate’s boyfriend said that he heard banging around 10 a.m. but could not tell where it was coming from.

-A 46-year-old man told police on April 13 that someone broke into his apartment during the afternoon on Saint Felix Street near Hanson Place and stole his MacBook Pro, a WD My Passport for a Mac hard drive and a Sony DCR-PC350 digital voice recorder. Police said that the thief apparently broke the front door lock.

Credit Card Fraud

A 24-year-old woman told police on April 3 that someone had tried to use her American Express account to make a purchase at Giuseppe Zanotti Design at 507 Myrtle Avenue. She said American Express told her that her credit card had been used for a suspicious transaction at the store.She told police that when she went there, the store manager said that a man had tried to use a credit card, but when the manager was alerted the card might be fraudulent, the man left without making a purchase. The woman said that she had her card at the time and had not authorized any copies.

Thefts from Stores

-A 50-year-old woman told police on April 8 that she had left her MacBook Pro on the counter of Gabriela De La Vega Boutique at 88 South Portland Avenue the evening before and came back that morning looking for it, it was gone. She said that there was construction in the store and multiple people had access. Police said that there was no sign of forced entry.

-A man stole two Samsung smartphones from the display counter in the Telecomm store at 436 Myrtle Avenue on April 14. The store owner told police the phones were worth $1,370.

Theft from Bike

A 32-year-old woman told police on April 9 that a bag had been stolen from her bike while she was talking to a friend eight days before. She said her bike was parked next to her on Fulton Street at Clermont Avenue with two bags tied to the back of the bike. After a half hour, she rode off and found that one of her bags, which contained two Go Pro cameras, a Go Pro LCD screen and an iPad, was missing. She searched the area but could not find her bag.

Thefts from Cars

-A 22-year-old woman left her brown Coach purse and wallet in her car parked on on Myrtle Avenue near Adelphi Street at noon on April 10 and came back two hours later to find them missing. She told police she had left her car unlocked.

-A 24-year-old man told police on April 11 that he had parked his car on South Portland Avenue near Hanson Place two days before and came back to find all four wheels gone.

-A 32-year-old woman told police on April 12 that she had left her purse in her friend’s car parked on Waverly Avenue near Fulton Street at 12:30 a.m. and came back three hours later to find the left-side window broken and her purse missing.

Theft at Café

A 20-year-old man told police on April 12 that he had left his gray North Face book bag, with his Cyberpower laptop, the day before on a chair at Celebrity Café at 529 Waverly Avenue for ten minutes and came back to find it gone.

Theft on Street

A man snatched a 26-year-old woman’s black Michael Kors wallet while she was coming out of a store on Cumberland Street at Park Avenue at 6:45 a.m. on April 13. She told police her wallet contained her TD Bank debit card and $180 in cash.

Attempted Car Theft

A 50-year-old woman told police on April 6 that a man had tried to steal her car. She said she had parked the car on the west side of Atlantic Avenue near Classon Avenue around midnight and came back at 5 a.m. to find the rear passenger window broken. She said she started the car, but then left it unattended to cross the street, where another family member’s car had been broken into. While she was away from her car, a man jumped into it and drove down Atlantic Avenue. She said the front wheel of the car fell off when he made a U-turn at Grand Avenue onto the eastbound side of Atlantic Avenue. The thief then fled and jumped into another car that sped off east on Atlantic Avenue.