Crime Report: Unauthorized Account Usage and Assaults at Women’s Shelter

A woman was punched in the face and robbed after she came to the aid of a 27-year-man who lost his phone to three thugs on Ashland Place at 3:25 a.m. on May 21, police said.

The man told cops he was walking north on Ashland Avenue toward Lafayette Avenue when one of the thieves approached him. “Let me see your phone,” he demanded, then grabbed it out of the man’s hands. When the man attempted to take his phone back, one of the robbers pushed him away.

The woman saw the struggle and attempted to help the man, but one of the thieves grabbed her purse and knocked her to the ground. She fought back and managed to get her purse back briefly, but one of the robbers snatched it from her again and punched her in the face.

The three thieves then ran to a white car and drove away.

Including the crime above, 24 felonies and three arrests were reported in the 88th Precinct last week, compared to 19 felonies and eight arrests the previous week. This report includes five cases of unauthorized account usage – bank accounts and cell phone accounts opened in someone else’s name – and fraudulent charges on credit cards. Two assaults were reported at the Tillary Street Women’s Shelter. The trend of robberies on the B38 bus also continued in the neighborhood, with the 12th such robbery this year occurring on May 12.

Women’s Shelter Assaults

-Barbara Uwanque-Adebayo, 32, was arrested for allegedly hitting a 27-year-old woman in the face with a metal combination lock inside the Tillary Street Women’s Shelter on Tillary Street near Prince Street on May 23 just before midnight. After the attack, the victim ran into another room, but Uwanque-Adebayo followed and used the metal lock to shatter a plastic window, according to police. A piece of the window cut the woman across the bridge of her nose, causing serious bleeding. She was treated by EMS and taken to the Brooklyn Hospital Center.

Uwanque-Adebayo was charged with assault in the second degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, 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.

-Someone picked up a heavy chair and flung it at a 25-year-old woman in the Tillary Street Women’s Shelter on May 24 around noon. The victim was sitting in the shelter lunch room when her attacker started yelling at her and then allegedly hurled the chair from about five feet away, hitting her leg and causing scratches and bruising. The injured woman was taken to Woodhull Hospital by EMS. Police did not provide any other information about the attacker.

Home Burglaries

-Burglars stole a Gucci watch, a high school and a college ring and diamond earrings – worth a total of $10,500 – from a 37-year-old man’s home on Grand Avenue between Gates Avenue and Putnam Avenue. There was no sign of forced entry, police said. The  37-year-old resident told police that his belongings were removed from an unlocked safe in his bedroom closet. Police searched the building, but could not find the man’s items.

-Two people who live in an apartment on Clinton Avenue between Greene and Gates Avenues returned home on May 22 around 4 p.m. to find the front door unlocked and their home ransacked. The burglars took a ukulele, a Gibson guitar, a mini Mac laptop, an iPad and a Nikon camera. The victims told police they had left the back window unlocked, and a plant on the ledge had been knocked over. The building does not have security cameras, police said.

-On May 25 between 3 p.m. at 6:20 p.m., someone entered an apartment on Quincy Street between Classon and Grand Avenues and stole an Apple iPad, and a Mac laptop – worth a total of $1,250. Police said the burglar probably entered through a rear window. Police searched the building with no success. The building lacks security cameras, police said.

Attempted Home Burglaries

-An intruder attempted to enter a home on Grand Avenue between Greene and Gates Avenues on May 23 at about 4:30 a.m., police said. The 40-year-old resident told police that he heard a loud noise on his patio and saw a man at his screen door, turning the handle to come inside. All the furniture on the patio was askew, and the intruder said, “Somebody was in your house.” The resident then pulled the inside door handle and locked the screen door. The intruder then fled.

-Police nabbed a purported drug dealer after he allegedly tried to break into an apartment on Vanderbilt Avenue between Greene and Gates Avenues on May 24 at 8 p.m.

Allan Haigh, 33, had pried the window security bars apart and damaged an interior door as he tried to get into the home, which was marked with a New York City Marshal’s Notice of Possession, police said.

When police collared Haigh at the apartment, he allegedly was carrying approximately three pounds of marijuana. He has two active arrest warrants, police said, but no additional information was available on those warrants, police said.

Thefts from Cars and Trucks

-Someone broke into a 37-year-old man’s rental truck and took his shoulder bag, two Fuji cameras, an iPad and CD cards – worth a total of $2,930, police said. The truck was parked on Grand Avenue between Gates Avenue and Fulton Street on May 22 between 4 and 4:45 p.m., when its renter was doing a photoshoot for Ray Brown Productions. Officers searched the area, but could not find the thief or the man’s belongings. They also interviewed a neighbor, who did not see anything. There are no security cameras nearby, police said.

-A man told police that someone stole his red NorthFace backpack, black flashlight, keys, sunglasses and a wallet from his work van, which he parked on Monument Walk on May 24 at 11 a.m. When he returned at 12:15 p.m., he found that his front passenger door lock cylinder was gone and his belongings – worth a total of $234 – were missing.

Car Damage

Someone intentionally damaged the ignition of a 37-year-old man’s car parked on Carlton Avenue between Park and Myrtle Avenues, the man told police. He realized on May 18 that he was unable to start his car, police said. The cost of repairs is uncertain, according to police.

Robbery on B38 Bus

A thief snatched an iPhone from a 30-year-old woman’s pocket on the B38 bus on May 12 just before 6 p.m., police said.  When she got on the bus at the Fulton Street and Fort Greene Place stop, her phone was in her pocket, she told police. While on the bus, she said that she felt a hard bump against her and someone reaching into her pocket. She then saw a man running off the bus with her phone. The woman does not have a tracking application on her phone, police said.

Robbery on A Train

A thief snatched a 19-year-old man’s backpack from his lap on May 21 at about 5:30 a.m. on a southbound A train as it approached the Clinton-Washington Avenue station, police said. The thief ran out of the train. The man told police his bag contained a Fuji Polaroid camera, a MacBook Pro, a Bank of America Visa debit card and a California State identification card.

Other Thefts

-Someone stole a 52-year-old woman’s purse from her pocketbook inside her office at the Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 16, she told police. She said that she left her pocketbook at 11 a.m., and when she returned at 5 p.m., the purse was missing. The woman later found that someone used her credit cards to purchase items at Duane Reade, totaling $209, at Macy’s, totaling $210, and at Radio Shack to buy cell phones. She also lost $400 that was inside her stolen purse. The woman told police that she called the bank about the unauthorized transactions and cancelled all her cards.

-Someone took a 34-year-old woman’s purse after she left it unattended at the Fulton Street Addiction Research and Treatment Center on the morning of May 20, police said. The woman told police that she put her purse down on the chair next to her at 9:45 a.m. and then went into the office for an appointment. When she returned 15 minutes later, her purse was gone. There are no security cameras on the second floor of the center, where the incident happened, police said.

Phone Snatchings

-A 37-year-old woman told police that she was walking on Emerson Place at Willoughby Avenue at 10:30 a.m. when a man allegedly snatched her iPhone. The woman said that she did not know the man and would not be able to identify him. Police searched the area, but could not find the thief or the cell phone.

-A 23-year-old man told police that someone came up behind him and snatched his Samsung Galaxy phone when he cut through Fort Greene Park on his way to work on May 25 at nearly 2 p.m. Police said that the man was not injured. He did not report the crime until 10:30 p.m., because he had to go to work first, according to police.

Unauthorized Account Usage

-A 65-year-old man who lives on Saint James Place between Lefferts Place and Atlantic Avenue told police that someone made unauthorized transactions on his credit card totaling $500 between March 31 and April 26. The man told police that he cancelled his credit card. He did not report the fraudulent transactions until May 20.

-A 24-year-old man who lives on Downing Street between Gates and Putnam Avenues told police that someone opened a bank account in his name between March 18  and March 30. He told police that he last remembers having his card on March 18 when he opened a new account at the bank with $40. On March 19, he told police, someone deposited ten fraudulent checks totaling $400 into his account. On March 20, the person withdrew $1,200 from his account without his authorization. He did not report the theft until May 21.

-A 39-year-old woman told police that she last used her credit card to check into a hotel on Myrtle Avenue between Waverly and Washington Avenues on May 18 at 6 p.m., but when she needed to use her card on May 21 at 10 a.m., she realized it was missing. She later found out that there were three unauthorized transactions on her card, one at an electronics store for $2,289.02 and two at MTA vending machines – one for $119.47 and the other for $22.20. The woman told police that she contacted her bank and cancelled the transactions.

-A 74-year-old woman who lives in the Ingersoll Houses told police that someone had opened a Capitol One bank account using her Social Security number and name. She told police Capitol One informed her about the fraudulent account on May 21 at 9 p.m., and that a new card was mailed to another Brooklyn address.

-A 43-year-old woman who lives on Clermont Avenue between Myrtle and Willoughby Avenues told police on May 23 that someone used her personal information to open up four Verizon cell phone accounts. She added that she had not lost her Social Security card or any debit cards.

Domestic Dispute

Leon Smith, 49, was arrested for allegedly choking his 41-year-old girlfriend in her sleep and then slapping and pushing her when she threatened to call the police, police said. The woman was sleeping in her Cumberland Walk apartment on May 21 around 11:30 p.m. when Smith attacked her, she told police. She also said that she suffered scratches and bruising to her neck area.

Smith was charged with assault in the third degree, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, 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.