Crime Report: Street Assaults, Store Robberies at Gunpoint, Muggings and Other Thefts

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, we are including two weeks of reports in today’s crime blotter. Twenty-three felonies and three arrests were reported in the 88th Precinct between Nov. 16 and 24. Another 23 were reported between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1; there were four arrests that week.

There were shootings and gunpoint robberies and many thefts – some on public transit, some on the street and in stores, still others in elevators — and a couple incidents of fraud. Street assaults were also common.

Most serious among them was the shooting of a 32-year-old man who was taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center on Nov. 18 for treatment of a gunshot wound in the arm. He told police he was walking into an apartment building on Lefferts Place near Classon Avenue when someone opened fire. Police could not provide a motive, and the man’s condition could not be immediately determined. There were no suspects, cops said.

Following an NYPD decision to restrict journalists’ access to the forms detailing crime reports in every New York City precinct — which we reported about yesterday – The Nabe will no longer be able to provide weekly 88th Precinct crime blotters after this week.

Store Robberies at Gunpoint

-A gunman stole an unknown amount of money from Sammy’s Deli and Grocery on DeKalb Avenue near Cumberland Street, cops said. The thief entered the store on Nov. 21 at about 7:30 p.m., displayed a black gun and demanded that an employee fork over cash. When the employee handed over the cash, the thief fled west on DeKalb Avenue, police said.

-An employee of the Empire Tobacco Shop on Myrtle Avenue told police that two men entered the shop on Nov. 25 at about 11 a.m., pointed a gun at his head and demanded money. The employee forked over $220, and the thieves also took an unknown amount of cigarettes, police said.

Sneakers Stolen at Gunpoint

A 17-year-old boy told police that on Nov. 26 at about 6 p.m., a man held him at gunpoint on Hanson Place between Ashland Place and Saint Felix Street while another man snatched his sneakers and fled. The teen said he had arranged to sell the sneakers to one of the men through the website BuyKicks, but when they met in person, the robbers ripped him off. Police searched the area but could not find the gunman or sneaker thief. Police were not immediately able to access nearby cameras.

Street Assaults

-A city bus driver told police that he spotted a man beating someone on Fulton Street between Vanderbilt and Clinton Avenues on Nov. 23 at 5 a.m. The victim, who suffered severe facial trauma, was taken to Bellevue Hospital and was not able to speak, according to police. The attacker fled, cops said. Police could not confirm the gender or age of the victim.

-Gregory Burke, 47, was arrested after he allegedly punched a 24-year-old woman in the face during an argument on the corner of Saint Edwards Street and Myrtle Avenue on Nov. 26 at 4:05 p.m. The woman told police her nose and cheek bone were broken and she suffered cuts to her left eye and lip.

Burke was charged with assault in the second degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, assault in the second degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, assault in the third degree, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, attempted assault in the third degree, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County Attorney’s office.

-Jasmine Hernandez, 24, and her mother, Virginia Hernandez, 47, were arrested after they punched and kicked a 43-year-old woman and struck her with an umbrella as she walked on South Oxford Street near Hanson Place with a co-worker — Jasmine’s boyfriend — on Nov. 27 at about 6 p.m.

Police found and arrested both women three days later. They were both charged with assault in the third degree, menacing in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon 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.

Assault at Hotel

A 56-year-old employee of the Washington Hotel on Washington Avenue told police that after he told two residents in a second floor room that they could no longer stay in the hotel, the residents told him to fix a leak in the bathroom and began beating him in the face, fracturing his eye socket and nose on Nov. 20 between about 1:15 and 1:35 p.m.

Assault at Restaurant

A 33-year-old cook at 3 Letters Restaurant on Fulton Street told police that a man threw beer bottles at him and other restaurant staff on Nov. 22 between about 6:30 and 8 p.m. The cook told police that the bottles hit him in the left forearm, causing swelling. There were no arrests.

Trespassing and Assault

Tyquan Blount, 19, was arrested after he pushed and spit on officers who attempted to arrest him for trespassing in a walkway on Carlton Avenue between Park and Myrtle Avenues on Nov. 22 at about 7:15 p.m. Blount allegedly pushed an officer over a 4-foot iron fence, causing him to injure his back. Police said Blount was wanted on two active arrest warrants, but could not confirm for what.

A spokesman for the Kings County District Attorney’s office said there is no public record of charges for Blount.

Assault and Stolen Book

A 28-year-old woman told police that a man followed her into the lobby of her Grand Avenue apartment on Nov. 27 at about 11:30 p.m., and, with his hand simulating a gun hidden under a green hand towel, demanded that she hand over her pocketbook. He punched her in the face and took a book, “Rebecca,” from the bag and fled. Police searched the area but could not find the thief or the book. There are surveillance cameras at the location, but police said they were unable to review them.

Elevator Muggings

-A 14-year-old boy told police that two men wearing masks pushed him inside an elevator at the Walt Whitman Houses and took his iPhone and $5 cash on Nov. 19 at about 3:30 p.m. The men fled down the stairs, cops said. No video surveillance is available, according to police.

-One mugger allegedly choked a 39-year-old man in an Ingersoll Houses elevator, while another threatened him and snatched $100 on Nov. 27 at about 11 p.m. Both muggers got off the elevator at the 10th floor and fled, cops said. Police canvassed the area but could not find the muggers or the cash.

Street Muggings

-A 34-year-old man told police that he was walking home on the grounds of the Walt Whitman Houses on Nov. 20 at about 4 p.m. when three men hit him from behind. When he tried to fight back, one of the assailants, wearing a black jacket, hit him in the head, leaving a two-inch gash. One of the assailants asked for the man’s money and iPhone but didn’t take anything, police said.

-A mob of about 30 teenagers surrounded a 12-year-old boy and demanded money on Nov. 22 at 3 p.m., police said. When the boy said he didn’t have money, one of the teens told him, “If you don’t give me your money, I’m going to knock you out.” The boy gave the teen $7, and the group fled east on DeKalb Avenue.

-A 24-year-old woman told police that she was walking on the corner of Willoughby and Clinton Avenues on Nov. 28 at about 7:45 p.m. when two people approached her from behind, pulled her hair, punched her and snatched her purse which contained a Virgin Mobile cell phone, two debit cards and $20. Both muggers fled north on Clinton Avenue toward Myrtle Avenue, cops said. Emergency Medical Services medics treated the woman at the 88th Precinct station house for a laceration on her right knee.

Thefts on the Subway

-A 26-year-old woman told police that she realized her cell phone was missing after she got off the C train on Lafayette Avenue on Nov. 19 at about 7:30 p.m. Before leaving the train, she checked her phone and put it back in her pocket, she told police. A phone-tracker located the phone at a Rockaway Avenue address, but police said they were not able to recover it.

-A 22-year-old woman told police that someone pushed her from behind and stole her wallet on a G train at the Clinton-Washington Avenues station on Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. The woman said she would not be able to identify the thief, who fled the train.

Theft on B38 Bus

A 51-year-old woman told police that someone opened her purse and stole her wallet — containing a driver’s license, health insurance card, a New York State benefit card and a Gap Visa card — on a crowded B38 bus traveling eastbound on Lafayette Avenue on Nov. 21. She entered the bus at the Fulton and Lafayette Avenue stop and discovered her wallet missing at the Vanderbilt and Lafayette Avenue stop at about 5:50 a.m. The woman told police that she could not describe the thief, and she does not know in what direction the thief fled. Thefts on the B38 bus were common during the summer, but started to taper off this fall.

Theft at Check Cashing Store

A 31-year-old woman chased a thief who stole her cell phone case containing bank cards, health insurance cards and $45 in cash from a check-cashing store on Vanderbilt Avenue — but when she caught up with the culprit, he returned the case without its contents, police said. The woman told police that she left the items at the store and returned 20 minutes later to find they were gone. The store was a hotspot for crime in November, when a masked robber used gasoline and a lighter to threaten employees earlier this month. Police canvassed the area but could not find the thief or the items.

Thefts at Schools

-A 30-year-old woman told police that someone stole her wedding band and engagement ring — worth a total of $20,000 — from a table at M.S. 113 on Adelphi Street. The woman said she removed the rings so she could play the drums in a classroom.

-A thief stole a 23-year-old woman’s pocketbook from the top of a file cabinet at PS 11 on Waverly Avenue between Greene and Gates avenues on Nov. 22 between 4:15 and 5:30 p.m. The pocketbook contained a Samsung Galaxy phone, a debit card, house keys, an umbrella and a learner’s permit, police said. The woman told police that she was serving meals to the schoolchildren when the theft occurred. She added that there were no charges or withdrawals on the debit card.

Website Scam

A 32-year-old man told police that on Nov. 15, he paid $1,771 to a website called 5KLoans.com – which he used to apply for a $3,000 loan – but found out it was a scam. He said that when he asked for his money back, the website demanded an extra $432.33 to release it. The man, who never received his money back, was a victim of what police called a “pay day loan scam.”

Stolen Cell Phones

-A 40-year-old woman told police that she had come out of the Classon Avenue G train station on Nov. 24 at nearly 1 a.m. and took out her phone to use the GPS when someone passed by, snatched the phone and ran into the Lafayette Gardens Houses. The phone was turned off, so it could not be tracked. The woman did not provide an identification number for her phone, cops said.

-A 15-year-old boy told police that he was walking home from school with a classmate on Vanderbilt Avenue between DeKalb and Myrtle Avenues on Nov. 25 at about 3:45 p.m. when two men stopped them, asked if they were from the area and took an iPhone 5 and an iPod from their pockets. The men allegedly asked the boys if they had anything else, and when the boys responded they didn’t, the men fled north on Vanderbilt Avenue. Police searched the area but could not find the men or the stolen items.

-A 12-year-old boy told police that he was walking at the corner of Classon Avenue and Quincy Street on Nov. 27 at 3:30 p.m. when a man approached him, said, “Come over here or I’m gonna shoot you,” snatched his cell phone and $2, and fled. Police were unable to obtain an identification number for the phone.

-A 31-year-old woman told police that she was walking on the corner of Willoughby and Clinton avenues on Nov. 27 at about 1:15 p.m. when a thief snatched her iPhone 5 from her hand. The suspect was last seen traveling east on Willoughby Avenue from Clinton Avenue, police said. Officers canvassed the area but could not find the phone or the thief. The phone’s tracking device was turned off, police said.

Laptop Theft

An employee of the BRIC Arts Media House told police that another employee stole a brand-new MacBook Pro from the facility between Nov. 12 and Nov. 14. The employee is suspended at the moment, pending further investigation, police said. Video footage is available. The employee made the police report on Nov. 25.

Stolen Vehicles

-A 54-year-old woman told police that she parked her Ford Mustang on the corner of Washington and Myrtle Avenues on Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. When she returned on Nov. 20, the car was gone, police said. Police canvassed the area but could not find the car. The car, worth $2,600, was not placed in an impoundment lot, cops said.

-A 58-year-old man told police he parked his Nissan Maxima on Park Avenue between Adelphi Street and Clermont Avenue on Dec. 1 at 7:05 a.m. When he returned five minutes later, the car was gone. A surveillance camera shows a man exit silver Impala, enter the Nissan through an unlocked passenger door and drive west on Park Avenue.

Thefts from Vehicles

-A 45-year-old man told police that he parked his car on Willoughby Avenue at Classon Avenue on Nov. 18 at 2 a.m., and when he returned at about 8:10 a.m., his GPS system, speakers, amplifier and phone charger – worth a total of $2,425 – were gone.

-A 31-year-old man told police that someone stole his friend’s laptop and iPhone from his car on Downing Street between Putnam and Gates avenues on Nov. 18. He said that he parked his car and went into an apartment with his friends at 11:55 p.m. When he returned 15 minutes later, the items were gone. A witness told police a bald man had been inside the car. The man’s friend told police her phone had a tracking application, but it was not active at the time. The man said he will provide police with the laptop’s serial number. Police canvassed the area but could not find the thief or the items.

-A Rainforest Distribution employee told police that someone broke the driver’s side window of his truck parked on Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi Street and Clermont Avenue and stole a Samsung Galaxy phone and a wallet containing $2,500 in cash and a New Jersey driver’s license on Nov. 19 at about 2 p.m. He told police that he was making a store delivery when the theft occurred.

-A 47-year-old woman told police that he parked his car on Nov. 22 at 3:15 p.m. on Waverly Avenue between Greene and Gates avenues. When he returned a half hour later, his car was ajar and his laptop, cell phone and wallet – containing two credit cards – were missing.

-A 25-year-old man told police that someone took a Dell Inspiron laptop, phylacteries (Jewish prayer straps) and shirts, pants and sweaters – worth a total of $1,700 – from the trunk of his car parked on the corner of Fleet Place and Willoughby Street on Dec. 1 between 3 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.

Home Burglaries

-A 61-year-old man told police that a man entered an open window in the back of his Saint Felix Street apartment and stole two gold chains and a pair of yellow metal earrings on Nov. 19. When the man came home at about 11:40 a.m., he saw the intruder standing in his apartment’s back room. The intruder fled through the same window and ran into the backyard, where he jumped the fence, police said. The thief left his glove behind in the apartment, cops said. Police canvassed the area, but could not find the thief.

-A woman who was house sitting for a 29-year-old man over the Thanksgiving holiday told police that she left the Cumberland Street home on Nov. 28 at 12:30 a.m. and returned at 6:45 p.m. to find that the man’s laptop, worth $3,300, had been stolen. The door to the home does not fully lock, the woman told police. Officers searched the area but could not find the thief or the laptop.

-A 63-year-old woman told police that on Nov. 14, when flat rate movers were transporting her belongings from her old home on Willoughby Street to her new address on Macon Street, she left a box of gold jewelry worth $2,750 and a can of quarters on top of one of her bedroom dressers. The next day, she realized she was missing the items. She said she planned to put them in a safe place during the move, but forgot.

Store Burglary

An employee of Bergen Bagels on Fulton Street near Washington Avenue told police that someone entered through the eatery’s side door between 3:20 and 8 a.m. on Nov. 29 and stole cash and a payroll check — totaling $1,742. Cameras inside the store recorded the crime, cops said.

Meter Reader Stolen

A Con-Edison employee told police that someone stole her electric meter reader from on top of a parking meter on Myrtle Avenue near Hall Street on Nov. 21 at about 2 p.m. There are no nearby surveillance cameras, police said. The employee made the police report on Nov. 26.

Home for Sale Scam

Someone attempted to sell a 64-year-old man’s house valued at $1.2 million on Lefferts Place near Grand Avenue using his personal information, police said. From Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, the fraudster allegedly forged the man’s signature, recorded it at the Office of the City Register and transferred the deed for the property from one Limited Liability Company to another. Police said they do not have any suspects. The man reported the fraud on Nov. 25.

Unauthorized Bank Account Usage

-A 34-year-old woman told police that someone used her personal information to deposit checks and made withdrawals totaling $3,371.06 from her Chase Bank account on Nov. 21 at about 1:45 p.m. Chase Bank froze the woman’s account as a result of the transactions, police said.

-An 84-year-old woman told police that someone used her personal information to run up $3,500 on her Chase Bank account between June 18 and Nov. 3. The woman told police she was in possession of her debit card for the whole time. Her account is now closed, police said. The woman reported the fraudulent charges on Nov. 25.

-A 50-year-old woman told police that someone used her personal information to make two ATM withdrawals totaling $483 from her United States Bank account between Nov. 18 and 21. The woman told police she still has her credit card.

Domestic Disputes

-A 26-year-old woman told her Department of Homeless Services caseworker that her boyfriend punched her in the chest and threw a CD case at her, hitting her in the chest following an argument at the Auburn Family Residence near Park Avenue on Nov. 19 at 1:30 p.m.

Le Shawn E. Prescod, 32, was charged with assault in the 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.

-Ahmad R. Taylor, 40, was arrested after he allegedly choked his 41-year-old girlfriend and threw her against the window, wall and door inside a Walt Whitman Houses apartment on Nov. 26 between 2:30 and 3 p.m. He also allegedly kicked a TV set, threw a cable box and threw a mirror. Taylor’s girlfriend told police she has substantial pain in her neck and back, but she has no visible injuries.

Taylor was charged with criminal mischief in the third degree, assault in the third degree, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, criminal possession of a weapon 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.