Crime Report: Everything, Including The Kitchen Sink

By Briana Duggan

Theft dominated last week’s 88th Precinct crime reports. In what has become an all-too-familiar trend, electronics were the most commonly stolen items in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, with robberies of cellphones, laptops and camera equipment reported last week.

But electronics were not the only items targeted. One Fort Greene resident came home on Sept. 10 around 4 p.m. to find that many things – including the kitchen sink – had been stolen from the second floor of the apartment off North Oxford Street near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The burglar made off with a washer and dryer, kitchen cabinets, light fixtures and sinks valued at over $3,000. Neighbors said they did not hear anything and police have not found the thief.

Including the crime above, 19 felonies and eight arrests were reported in the precinct last week.

Robberies of Electronics

-Jesus Perez, 24, was arrested on Sept. 11 after he allegedly kicked a 35-year-old woman in the face while trying to steal her laptop on Grand Avenue near Fulton Street on Sept. 9 around 2 p.m.

A spokesman for the Kings County District Attorney’s Office said he could not provide information on the arrest or on charges against Perez.

-Two teenaged boys pointed an toy pistol at a 34-year-old woman and snatched her purse in Fort Greene Park on Sept. 9 around 10 p.m., police said. Police later recovered the imitation pistol.

The boys, 14 and 15 years old, were arrested and charged with robbery in the second and third degree, grand larceny in the forth degree, menacing in the second and third degree, harassment in the second degree, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the forth degree, and selling or possessing of air pistols and air rifles, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

-A man snatched a 56-year-old woman’s phone on Sept. 13 around 5 p.m. while she stood outside her home on Washington Park between Myrtle and Willoughby Avenues, police said. The police searched the neighborhood but did not find the phone or the thief.

-A 33-year-old woman told police someone stole $7,000 in computer and camera equipment from her car on Sept. 9 while it was parked on Myrtle Avenue near Flatbush Avenue between 5:45 and 6:46p.m. The equipment included a MacBook Pro, two Nikon cameras, and three lenses.

-A 14-year-old boy told police that two acquaintances took his iPod at the Ingersoll Houses on Sept. 9 and refused to return it, saying they would sell it. Police arrested two 15-year-old boys in connection with the theft.

A spokesman for the Kings County District Attorney’s office could not provide additional information about the arrest or the charges against the two teens.

-A 24-year-old woman told police that a laptop and iPod touch were stolen from her car while it was parked close to Atlantic Avenue at Washington Avenue on the evening of Sept. 13. There was no forced entry, according to police documents.

Stolen Cars and Vans

-A 1998 Honda Civic was stolen on Park Avenue near North Portland Avenue overnight between Sept. 11 and Sept. 12, police said. Police searched the neighborhood, but could not find the car.

-A thief stole a 1999 Chevy Suburban that the owner left idling on the street while he purchased items in a shop at Fulton Street and Saint James Place around 4:40 p.m. on Sept. 15 , according to police documents. The owner, a 42-year old man, said the thief drove down Fulton Street and north on Washington Avenue.

-A 47-year-old man told police he discovered his 1998 Dodge Ram van was stolen from its parking spot near Putnam Avenue and Classon Avenue on Sept. 3, after he had left it there for several days. Police could not find the van, but a security camera caught the Dodge driving on the Manhattan Bridge at 1a.m. on Sept. 8.

Stolen Motorcycle

-A 28-year-old man told police someone stole his motorcycle on Cumberland Street near DeKalb Avenue around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 11. The handlebar lock was likely engaged at the time of the theft, police documents say. Police searched the area but did not find the motorcycle.

Stolen Bicycles

-A bicycle was stolen from a bike rack off of Washington Avenue near Myrtle Avenue, according to police documents. The 21-year-old owner said he had left his bike chained there for several days, and when he returned on Sept. 9 the bike was missing and the chain was clipped.

-Victor Morales, 32, and Samuel Torres, 29, were arrested after police said they stole a racing bike from Myrtle Avenue near Grand Avenue on Sept. 11. Both men were charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree and petit larceny. Morales was also charged with possessing burglar’s tools.

Stolen Wallets

-A 34-year-old man told police his wallet was stolen when he left it on the side of a Lafayette Avenue basketball court near Classon Avenue, where he was playing on Sept. 10 around 4 p.m. His credit card was then used to make purchases, according to police documents.

-A 45-year-old woman told police that she realized her wallet was stolen while she was sleeping on the northbound 4 train at the Nevins Street stop around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 10. There were no unauthorized charges on the card, and the police say they have not found the thief.

Home Burglary

-Ten thousand dollars in cash and jewelry were stolen from a home on Lefferts Place on Sept. 13 around 2 p.m. A 62-year-old woman said she came home to find her bedroom door ajar, the window open, and her wedding ring, engagement ring, watch and the cash missing. The rest of the house was untouched.

Stolen Car Equipment

-A 39-year-old man told police that a catalytic converter was stolen out of his car, which he had parked on Grand Avenue near Flushing Avenue, in the early morning of Sept. 11.

Theft from Cash Drawer

Several car keys, a debit card, and a $15 money order were stolen from a petty cash drawer at the Pathways to Housing center on Flatbush Avenue near Fulton Street sometime in the early morning of Sept. 13, police say. Several people have access to the box, according to police documents.

Stolen Tools

-Mary King, 33, was arrested after police say she stole tools from a work van off on Putnam Avenue between Downing Street and Irving Place on Sept. 12. The owner of the tools told police that he saw King, along with two men, walk by carrying his electric saw, jackhammer, nail gun, and other items. When the owner confronted them, the three thieves dropped the items and ran off.

King was arrested and charged with grand larceny in the forth degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the forth and fifth degree, criminal mischief in the forth degree and petit larceny, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office. The other men have not been apprehended.