Crime Report: Burglaries and Robberies in the Nabe

Malcolm Alexander and Antoine Carter were arrested after they allegedly stole $70 from a CVS on Myrtle Avenue on June 25 at 12:15 p.m., police said. When a store employee attempted to stop Alexander from taking the money, Carter punched the employee, bruising his head.

Both Alexander and Carter were charged with robbery in the second and third degrees, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Including the crime above, 20 felonies and four arrests were reported in the 88th Precinct last week. Thefts – from burglaries in homes and stores to robberies in the street and on public transit – comprised the majority of the reports. Electric bikes were a common stolen item in the precinct last week.  June 28 marked the 13th reported theft on B38 buses this year, continuing a trend in the precinct. Another assault was reported at the Tillary Street Women’s Shelter, continuing a recent trend of assaults there.

Street Attack

A thug, angered that a man refused to move from a bench on the grounds of the Walt Whitman Houses, punched him, bashed his head on the sidewalk three times and choked him until he passed out, police said. The 48-year-old victim was taken to the Brooklyn Hospital Center after the attack, which happened on June 29 at 11 p.m.

iPhone Snatches

-A 15-year-old boy was arrested after he allegedly snatched an iPhone 5 from a 42-year-old woman’s hand as she walked on Clinton Avenue at Lafayette Avenue on June 27 at 4 p.m. The teen, accompanied by three other people, tossed the phone under a car as he fled. Police recovered the phone when they arrested the teen.

The Kings County District Attorney’s office could not find charge information for the teen.

-A 24-year-old woman told police that she was walking on Fulton Street at South Oxford Street on June 28 at about 1:40 p.m. when someone snatched her phone from her hand. The thief fled north on Lafayette Avenue from South Oxford Street. Officers searched the area but could not find the phone or the thief. Police attempted to track the phone but were unsuccessful. There are no security cameras in the area, police said.

Attempted Street Robbery

A 60-year-old man told police he was thrown to the ground, dragged on the sidewalk and kicked in the face by a mugger who tried to steal his wallet at about 2:50 a.m. on June 29, but left empty-handed.

The man was walking east on DeKalb Avenue and South Oxford Street when the mugger approached him from behind and chased him about 10 blocks to the northeast corner of Hall Street and Willoughby Avenue. The victim, who was injured on his left eye, both hips and his left shoulder, received medical attention, according to police.

Women’s Shelter Assault

Annmarie Crenshaw, 52, a resident of the Tillary Street Women’s Shelter, was arrested at the shelter after she allegedly smacked another resident in the face on June 30 at about 5:30 p.m., causing her pass out. She was charged with assault in the second degree, robbery in the third degree, assault in the third degree, menacing in the second degree, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Cane Attack

Jemell Spence, 32, was arrested after he allegedly hit a 59-year-old Applebee’s Restaurant employee over the head with a wooden cane inside the Flatbush Avenue chain restaurant on June 29 at about 6 p.m.

Spence was charged with assault in the second degree, robbery in the third degree, assault in the third degree, menacing in the second degree, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property in fifth degree, criminal possession of a weapon in fourth degree, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Stolen Bikes

-A man told police that he parked his electric bike in front of Eagle City Chinese Food on Fulton Street near Washington Avenue on June 26 at 4:20 p.m. When he returned an hour later, he realized that someone cut the chain and stole the bike. Police searched the area but could not find the bike.

-A group of men and women allegedly punched an 18-year-old delivery man in the face, knocked him to the ground and stole his electric bicycle and an unknown amount of cash on North Portland Avenue near Park Avenue on June 27 at about 11:30 p.m.  The victim was not able to provide a detailed description of his attackers, police said.

Transit Robberies

-A 41-year-old woman told police that someone came up behind her and snatched her yellow metal necklace inside the Clinton-Washington Avenues G train station on June 26 at 5 p.m. She said the thief then fled out of the subway and into the street.

-A 46-year-old woman told police that she was on the B38 bus when someone stole her cell phone from her bag on June 28 between 6 and 6:30 p.m. She told police that when she got off the bus at the Grand and Lafayette Avenues stop, a man bumped into her. She said she does not have a tracking application on her phone.

Home Burglaries

Someone stole a 49-year-old man’s computer, which had just been delivered, from the lobby of an apartment on Myrtle Avenue near Navy Street on June 22 between 9 and 9:25 p.m. Video surveillance shows the thief taking the box containing the computer and leaving the building. The computer has no tracking software, police said.

Attempted Home Burglary

A 37-year-old woman told police that she was in her bedroom office on June 28 around 11:25 a.m. when she saw a strange man inside her South Oxford Street apartment. Once she spotted the stranger, he ran out the front door empty-handed. The woman told police that the intruder, wearing large yellow construction gloves, forced open her second-floor window to get inside. Police could not find any security cameras nearby. The woman told police that she would not be able to identify the intruder.

Store Burglary

An employee at Raif Designs on Fulton Street near Vanderbilt Avenue allegedly stole mannequins, sewing machines and a fax machine from the store and loaded them into a truck between June 27 at 3:30 p.m. and June 29 at 9:30 a.m., a witness told police.

Swipe from Register

A  bartender at Sans Souci restaurant on Myrtle Avenue near Carlton Avenue allegedly stole $1,048 from the restaurant’s cash register at the end of her shift on June 29 at about 3:30 a.m. The bartender is the only person who has the plastic security card to open the register, another restaurant employee told police.

Storage Theft

Someone stole an electric bass guitar, an amp case, a turntable, a turntable case and a microphone stand – worth a total of $1,775 – from American Self Storage on Clinton Avenue between Flushing and Park Avenues between June 1 at 4 p.m. and June 29 at 8:30 a.m., police said.

Stolen Cars and Trucks

-Someone stole a truck from Lafayette Avenue at Fulton Street between 9:30 a.m. on June 27 and 11 p.m. on June 28, police said. Police searched the area but could not find the truck, and contacted the tow pound, but the truck was not there.

-A 62-year-old man parked his car on Hall Street between Willoughby and DeKalb Avenues on June 30 at at 4 p.m. When he returned the following day at 12:30 p.m., it was gone. Officers attempted to call the Brooklyn Navy Yard impound lot to find out if the car was towed there, but no one picked up the phone.

Theft from Car

-A 36-year-old man told police that he parked his car on South Elliott Place at DeKalb Avenue on June 24 at 4:30 p.m., and when he returned the next day at around 11 a.m., he realized he could not open his trunk and three bags filled with Marc Jacobs clothing were missing from inside the car.

Fraudulent Account Charges

A 49-year-old man told police that someone used his Social Security number and personal information to open an account at the Livingston Street Sleepy’s mattress store on May 30 and charged $3,602.37 to the account. The man reported the fraudulent charges on June 26.