Crime Report: Thefts from Cars, Bank Account Fraud and Assaults

Locals should be on the look-out for a man dressed in a Fed-Ex uniform who has been seen stealing packages from buildings, according to 88th Precinct Deputy Inspector Scott Henderson.

At the 88th Precinct Community Council Meeting on Tuesday, Henderson said locals should be careful about whom they let into apartment buildings and to ask for identification. He also reminded people to lock their cars and not leave their belongings in cars, after a spate of recent car break-ins.

Eighteen felonies were reported in the 88th Precinct between March 10 and March 16, including bicycle thefts, assaults and bank fraud. Police arrested one man for allegedly stealing packages from buildings.

Theft at Knifepoint

A man told police was held up at knifepoint, punched in the face and robbed by three men while he was walking on Greene Avenue near Saint James Place on March 15 at 3:10 p.m. He told police that the thieves came from behind him and one man flashed a knife. Two men held his arms while the third man punched him and grabbed $80 from his pocket. The man was treated by Emergency Medical Technicians at the scene.

Package Thefts

Police arrested Ernest Rivers, 45, on March 11 for allegedly stealing packages from a building on Clinton Avenue near Gates Avenue. A witness told police that he saw Rivers taking packages and confronted him. Rivers fled and after a brief chase, the witness caught him and held him until police arrived. Police said that they have video surveillance of Rivers stealing a package from another building on South Oxford Street near Hanson Place on March 3. Rivers is charged with burglary in the second and third degrees, criminal trespass in the second and third degrees, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, trespass and criminal trespass in the third degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Attempted Bike Theft and Assault

A 35-year-old man told police that four men attacked him and tried to steal his bicycle while he was riding on Rockwell Place near Lafayette Avenue on March 15 at 5:20 p.m. He told police that they punched him and hit him in the face with a metal rod. Police searched but could not find the attackers. The man was treated by EMTs at the scene.

Paintball Assault

A 50-year-old man told police that someone shot a paintball gun at him and hit him in the chest while he was standing in a parking lot in the Ingersoll Houses on March 12 at 12:30. He told police that the paintball had been fired from a second-floor apartment. Police searched but could not find the shooter.

Assaults at Bamboo Lounge

A 28-year-old man told police that someone hit him in the head with a handgun at 3 a.m. at the Bamboo Lounge, 527 Myrtle Avenue, on March 16.

About an hour later, a 21-year-old woman was outside the Bamboo Lounge when she got into an argument with another woman and a man hit her on the face with a handgun, police reported. She told police that the man fled in a white and gray car on Myrtle Avenue. She was treated at the scene by EMTs for lacerations to her forehead and left ear. Police could not say if the two assaults were connected.

Theft from Business

The owner of All County Business Essentials in the Brooklyn Navy Yard told police on March 10 that an employee had stolen cases of paper, water bottles, paperwork and a Panasonic desk phone, worth a total of $900, from his business. He told police that he had video surveillance of the employee entering the business with a dolly at 9:22 p.m. and leaving the Navy Yard at midnight in his van.

Broken Lock

A resident told police on March 13 that someone had broken the front door locks of an apartment building on Grand Avenue near Lefferts Place during the previous night. Police said no property was taken.

Bicycle Thefts

-A 46-year-old woman told police on March 10 that someone broke into her home on Fulton Street near Grand Avenue the night before and stole her bicycle.

-A 32-year-old man told police on March 14 that he heard loud noise outside his front door on Fort Greene Place near Hanson Place at 4:40 a.m. When he went to investigate, he saw a thief trying to ride away with his two bicycles. He chased the thief and got one bicycle back, but the thief made off with a Giant bicycle worth $1,000.

Cellphone Fraud

A 19-year-old woman told police on March 10 that someone had used her personal information to open a cell phone account in her name.

Check Frauds

-A 22-year-old man told police on March 13 that someone had deposited a fake check into his TD Bank checking account and withdrew $3,470 in four withdrawals between Feb. 18 and Feb. 28. He told police he discovered the fraud when TD Bank sent him a letter.

-A 22-year-old woman told police on March 13 that someone had deposited two fake checks into her bank account and withdrew $1,000. She told police that she had lost her wallet on Feb. 16 at a party, but hadn’t thought her debit card was in her wallet. She discovered the fraud when she checked her bank statement.

iPhone Theft

A 21-year-old woman told police that someone had snatched her iPhone from her hand while she was at a crowded party at Sanders Studios, 525 Waverly Avenue, at 3:30 a.m. on March 16. Police said a tracking app traced the phone to Atlantic Avenue and Grand Avenue.

Thefts from Cars

-A 32-year-old man told police that his wallet with his Illinois driver’s license and $20 in cash had been stolen from his van parked on Washington Avenue near Myrtle Avenue on March 10. He told police that he had left his van with the doors unlocked at 9 a.m. and came back at 1 p.m. to find his wallet missing.

-A 31-year-old man told police on March 11 that the day before someone stole his red and black book bag with his Visa credit card, Mastercard credit card and $20 in cash from his work truck parked on Myrtle Avenue near Ryerson Street.

-A 49-year-old woman told police on March 14 that someone had broken the passenger side window of her car parked on Adelphi Street near Willoughby Avenue the previous day and stole a Dooney & Burke pocketbook, a Banana Republic purse, a Samsung MetroPCS cellphone and a pair of prescription glasses.

Car Theft

– A 58-year-old man told police that he had parked his father’s car on Washington Avenue near Willoughby Avenue on March 8 at 7:30 p.m. and came back on March 9 at 10 a.m. to find it gone.