Crime Report: Assaults, Package Thefts and Thefts on Streets

An unidentified woman beat a worker trying to stop her from shoplifting a $1.09 bottle of nail polish remover from the All Services Laundromat at 295 Myrtle Avenue on May 14, police said. Police said video surveillance shows her punching him in the face and chest and scratching his neck before running off with the nail polish remover. The worker refused medical attention from Emergency Medical Technicians.

In addition to the above crime, two arrests and 20 felonies were reported in the 88th Precinct between May 11 and May 18. Locals also reported assaults, street thefts and more package thefts from buildings.

Assaults

-Police arrested Jose Santos, 62, for allegedly hitting a 51-year-old man with a broomstick in the Walt Whitman Houses on May 12. The man told police that he bumped into Santos while he was leaving his room in his apartment, and Santos became enraged and hit him on the right arm. The man was treated by EMTs. Santos is charged with assault in the second and third 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.

-A 15-year-old boy told police on May 12 that he had been attacked by a fellow student at P.S. K753 on April 30. He said that the other boy came up to him in school and demanded his name. The boy refused and ran up a staircase. The attacker followed him to the third floor and began shouting and shoved the boy. The boy fled again to the second floor, still followed by the attacker, who punched him in the face. Police said that the boy received six stitches for a cut on his eyebrow. Police could not say why he waited to report the attack.

-Police responding to a call found a 23-year-old man beaten and unconscious on Washington Avenue near Gates Avenue on May 17 near midnight. EMTs took the man, who had cuts on his right arm and the back of his head, to Kings County Hospital. Police said the man could not remember who or where he was when he woke up, and was admitted for treatment for head trauma.

Theft in Atlantic Terminal Houses

A man who ordered a takeout dinner to be brought to the Atlantic Terminal Houses on May 12 repeatedly punched the 21-year-old deliveryman in the face and robbed him of the food and $20, then disappeared into the building, police said.  EMTs took the victim to New York Methodist Hospital for treatment of facial cuts after the 5 p.m. attack.

Thefts on Street

-Four men punched and robbed a 44-year-old man of $400 while he was walking on South Oxford Street near Atlantic Avenue on May 12 at 12:30 a.m. The man told police that the attackers fled in a Nissan Altima. He was treated at Interfaith Hospital for cuts and bruises on his face.

-Two thieves held up a 21-year-old man at gunpoint as he was walking on Gates Avenue near Putnam Avenue on May 12 at 10:20 p.m. He told police that one of the robbers held a gun on him while the accomplice went through his pockets and stole his iPhone 4 and $200. The thieves fled north on Grand Avenue. Police searched but could not find them.

-A 29-year-old man told police a pickepocket bumped into him while he was walking on Ashland Place near Hanson Place on May 15 about 1:45 p.m. and took his black Coach wallet, with his New York State driver’s license, Wells Fargo debit and credit cards and Chase credit card.

Attempted Assault Arrest

Police arrested Tadeusz Rutkowski, 44, for allegedly throwing a log at a 42-year-old man on May 14 on Steuben Street near Park Avenue. Police said he missed the man, but hit the bicycle he was riding. Rutkowski is charged with menacing in the second and third degrees, attempted assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Package Thefts

-A thief stole packages left by Fed Ex from the lobby of an apartment building on Washington Avenue near Myrtle Avenue on May 11 at 3 a.m. A 43-year-old woman told police that the packages contained $852 worth of textbooks and teaching materials. Police said video surveillance showed a man breaking into the lobby and taking packages.

About a half hour later, a thief broke into the lobby of an apartment building on Classon Avenue near Myrtle Avenue and stole $500 worth of packages left in the lobby on May 13 at 4 a.m. Police said the man was seen on video surveillance wearing a pair of black gloves. Police could not say if it was the same thief.

Thefts from Homes

-A 34-year-old woman told police that a thief stole her Macbook Pro and a brown leather laptop bag from her apartment on Washington Avenue near Greene Avenue on May 11. She said she had left her apartment at 2:15 p.m. and discovered her laptop was gone when she came back at 9 p.m.

-A thief stole a 57-year-old woman’s Comme des Garcons wallet from her apartment on Fort Greene Place near Fulton Street during the night on May 12. She told police the next day that she wasn’t sure if the front door had been locked. She said the wallet contained $80, a Chase debit card and two American Express credit cards.

Theft on Train

A thief cut a sleeping man’s pocket to steal his wallet, with $335, while he was riding the No. 4 train on May 17. The 46-year-old man told police he had been drunk and passed out on the train around 5 a.m. He woke up when the train reached the end of the line and when he exited the train at Nevins Street, he realized his wallet was missing.

Thefts from Cars

-A thief smashed the driver’s side window of a car parked on Rockwell Place near Lafayette Avenue and stole a 44-year-old woman’s tan purse on May 16. She told police she parked her car at 4 p.m. and came back 10 minutes later to find her purse gone.

-A 32-year-old woman told police on May 16 that a thief stole an iPod and a $1,950 navigation system from her car parked on North Elliott Place near Flushing Avenue. She said that she had parked her car at 11:30 p.m. the night before and came back at 4 p.m. the next day and found a smashed window and the system missing.

Car Thefts

-A 36-year-old woman told police on May 13 that a thief stole her car parked on Washington Avenue near Park Avenue. She told police that she had left her car on May 10 at 10 a.m. and came back the next day at 4 p.m. to find it missing.

-A thief stole a 59-year-old man’s 2003 Ford E250 van from a parking spaceon Vanderbilt Avenue near Myrtle Avenue on May 12. He told police that he parked his van at 12:20 p.m. and went to fix the air conditioning system of a liquor store on Myrtle Avenue. When he came back a half hour later, the truck was gone. He found the van four hours later parked a mile away on Willoughby Avenue at Sandford Street. He said the rear door locks and ignition were damaged.

Motorcycle Thefts

-A thief stole a 21-year-old man’s 2006 Honda motorcycle that he left chained to a telephone pole on Emerson Place near Myrtle Avenue on May 9. The man told police he came back for his motorcycle on May 15 and found it was gone.

-A man told police on May 15 that someone stole his motorcycle parked on Adelphi Street near Park Avenue. He said he had left his motorcycle on May 9 and it was gone when he came back for it on May 15.