Crime Report: Street Muggings, a Religious Scam and a Police Sting

Four teenage boys were arrested in the gunpoint robbery of a 30-year-old man’s cell phone in Fort Greene Park on Aug. 15, police reported.

With two boys, ages 13 and 15, acting as lookouts, Carlos Sanchez, 17, waylaid the man, put a BB gun to his head and demanded that he surrender his cell phone to an accomplice, Angel Vargas, 16, police said.

The victim told police he followed the fleeing teens to the Nevins Street subway station, where he spotted an officer and pointed out the teens. The officer arrested the teens on the spot.

Twenty-five felonies and nine arrests were reported in the 88th Precinct last week, a significant increase from the week before, when 14 felonies and three arrests were reported. Street muggings continued to dominate the reports, and, like last week, thefts from cars came in second. The reports also include a scam in which a thief pretended to be a priest and swindled thousands of dollars, and a police sting to catch a wallet thief.

Street Muggings

-A 27-year-old man told police that he was walking on Lafayette Avenue between Clermont Avenue and Adelphi Street on Aug. 14 at 7 a.m. when two muggers wearing dark-colored jeans approached him. One asked him for the time and the other asked him for change. While one allegedly grabbed him from behind, the other tried to take his iPhone from his pocket. When the man’s phone fell to the ground, one of the muggers allegedly picked it up. The man told police that both robbers fled north on Adelphi Street with the phone, and when he started chasing after them, they threatened that they had guns. The victim was not injured, police said. Officers used a cell phone tracking device, and last found the phone at a North Oxford Walk address. When police searched that area, they could not find the phone or the robbers.

-A man told police that he was walking with a friend on Lafayette Avenue near Classon Avenue on Aug. 17 at 5:05 a.m. when someone grabbed him by the throat and threw him on the ground, causing him to black out. When he came to, he realized that his $1,273 in cash, Bank of America credit and debit cards, a PNC Bank Visa Business Check card and MetroCard were stolen. Police searched the area but could not find the thief or the man’s belongings.

-An 18-year-old woman told police that a mugger punched her in the mouth while she fought to stop him from stealing her cell phone as she walked on Classon Avenue at Greene Avenue on her way home on Aug. 17 at about 2:40 a.m.

-A 36-year-old woman told police that she was walking on Carlton Avenue at Lafayette Avenue on Aug. 17 at 3:20 a.m. when she sensed someone following her. When she turned around, a man wearing a black ski mask with small white stripes threatened her with a knife, saying, “Give me your wallet, all your money and your cell phone, or I’m going to kill you.” The woman handed over her wallet, containing $280 in cash, a Chase debit card and Visa card, and then ran into the street, police said.

Attempted Restaurant Robbery

The general manager of Smashburger on DeKalb Avenue at Rockwell Place told police that on Aug. 14 between 1 and 1:30 p.m., she was working the cash register when a man walked into the restaurant, threatened that he had a gun and demanded cash. When she asked him, “Is this a joke?” he replied, “I’m gonna shoot you in the head.” The manager ducked and ran away from the counter, and the man fled, police said. Officers searched the area with the manager, but could not find the man.

Beer Can Attack

A 38-year-old man told police that someone hit him over the head with a can of beer at Hanson Dry Bar on Fulton Street between Clinton and Waverly Avenues on Aug. 13 at 1 p.m. The man suffered ringing in his left ear, he told police. Police searched the area but could not find the attacker. Security cameras at the bar may be able to help in the investigation, police said.

Religious Scam

A 47-year-old woman told police that a man wearing a Hawaiian T-shirt approached her in the El Cofre Restaurant on Myrtle Avenue, claiming that he was a priest and asking for money to donate to a church. The woman said that she would help him, prayed with the man and went with him to Chase Bank, where she took out $3,800 in cash and wrapped it in a prayer cloth. The man then allegedly took the money, got into a taxi and left. Chase Bank has surveillance video of the incident, police said.

Wallet Recovered in Police Sting

Larry Blount, 58, was arrested in a police sting after he allegedly stole a 46-year-old woman’s cell phone in a Manhattan Radio Shack on Aug. 17. The woman told police that she she felt someone bump into her at the store, and after a few minutes, she realized her phone was missing from her bag. She told cops that she attempted to call her phone, but no one picked up. She tried again, and a man answered and told her to meet him in front of a bodega on Washington Avenue near Flushing Avenue, and he would return the phone only if she paid for it. The woman called police, and officers met Blount in front of the bodega at 7 p.m., arrested him and recovered the phone.

Blount was charged with coercion in the second degree, attempted grand larceny in the fourth degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree and attempted petit larceny, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Stolen While Asleep

-A man told police that when he was walking home, on the morning of Aug. 14, someone attacked him, knocking him out. When he woke up at 4 a.m. in front of the King of Classon Avenue Deli on Classon Avenue near Putnam Avenue, his jaw was injured and his pants were ripped. His iPhone, wallet, Chase debit card and $60 in cash were gone.

-A 49-year-old man told police that he boarded a 2 train at the Flatbush-Avenue Brooklyn College station on Aug. 11 at 7 a.m. and placed his iPhone in his shirt’s left breast pocket and fell asleep. When he woke at the Nevins Street station, it was gone. He told cops that he searched for the phone, but couldn’t find it.

Thefts from Cars

-A 38-year-old woman told police that she parked her SUV on Atlantic Avenue between Grand Avenue and Downing Street on Aug. 13 at 1 a.m., and when she returned at 3:20 a.m., her left side rear door window was broken and her Louis Vuitton wallet, containing $300 in cash, Visa and credit cards and a driver’s license was missing.

-A 27-year-old woman told police that she suspects her boyfriend allegedly entered her car parked on Washington Avenue between Willoughby and DeKalb Avenues without permission between Aug. 13 at 11 p.m. and Aug. 14 at 10 a.m. and took her 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop. She told police that she does have a GPS tracking device for her laptop, but it was offline. The car had no visible damage, cops said.

-A 36-year-old man told police that he left his backpack inside the front passenger side of his car parked on Navy Street at Myrtle Avenue on Aug. 16 at 5 p.m., and when he returned at 10:30 p.m., the bag was gone. The backpack contained a Chase credit card, a Gap Visa card, a Walmart Discover card and a Capital One MasterCard, the man told cops.

Theft from Gas Pump

A 26-year-old man told police that he left his wallet on a gas pump while he was fueling up his car on Aug. 17 at 10:30 a.m. at a Vanderbilt Avenue gas station. When he returned 10 minutes later, his wallet was missing, he told police. The Goyard designer wallet, purportedly worth $1,000, had $510 inside, along with Bank of America credit cards and a Maryland driver’s license. The man told police that he cancelled his cards immediately and no fraudulent charges had been made.

Bike Stolen

A 40-year-old woman told police that she locked her bike on a pole on Lafayette Avenue between Saint Felix Street and Fort Greene Place on Aug. 16 at 4:40 p.m. and returned at 6:15 p.m. to find it missing. No video surveillance is available, and there was no indication that the bike’s locks were broken, police said.

Theft from Wheelchair

A 37-year-old woman told police that she was in her wheelchair and walking her dog on Aug. 17 at about 9 a.m. when a thief snatched her wallet, containing her CitiBank debit card, state identification card, keys and $25 in cash from her lap. The woman told police that she cancelled her debit card and no charges were made on the card. She told police that she could not see the thief and was not able to provide a description.

Home Burglaries

A 31-year-old woman told police that she locked her Ashland Place apartment door on Aug. 16 at 11:15 a.m. and returned at 4:40 p.m. to find that her MacBook Pro laptop, iPad, keyboard and iPad stand were stolen. The woman told police that she will provide the serial numbers for her electronics.

Government Building Intrusion

Police responded to a call to remove Louis Smith, 24, from a U.S. Internal Revenue Services Building on Hudson Avenue between DeKalb Avenue and Fulton Street on Aug.13 at 1 p.m. When cops arrived, Smith allegedly tried to assault one of the officers. Two officers chased after Smith, and when they caught up to him, he allegedly resisted arrest.

Smith was charged with obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, resisting arrest, attempted assault in the third degree and disorderly conduct, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Alleged Marijuana Smoker Arrested

Christopher Dowling, 31, was arrested after police spotted him smoking what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette in front of a Fleet Walk apartment on the grounds of the Ingersoll Houses on Aug. 13 at about 6:30 p.m., police said. When the cops approached Dowling, he allegedly crushed the joint between his thumb and index finger, preventing them from recovering it. Dowling allegedly resisted arrest, pushing and punching the arresting officer, police said. The officer did not sustain any injuries, cops said.

Dowling was charged with assault in the second and third degrees, attempted tampering with physical evidence, resisting arrest, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Unauthorized Bank Account Activity

-A 21-year-old Hall Street resident told police that a thief found his lost debit card and used it to withdraw $3,000 from his account. The thief then used the money to open a fake account and made several purchases with the card, the man reported. The victim added that the last time he used his card was on July 22 at White Castle. He made the police report on Aug. 9.

-A 55-year-old Washington Avenue resident told police that someone ran up $1,200 in charges on her Chase Visa debit card, which she said she had lost, along with an unlimited seven-day MetroCard and a New York State learner’s permit between Aug. 17 at 2 a.m. and noon the next day.

Lost at the Library

A 33-year-old woman told police that she accidentally left her iPod Nano and wallet at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Clinton Hill branch on Saint Edwards Street on Aug. 9 at 5:50 p.m. When she returned about an hour later, it was gone, she told cops. She said she visited the library again on Aug. 13 and staff members told her they had not seen the items. The woman said her wallet contained a Chase debit card, a Toys ‘R’ Us gift card, medical cards and MetroCards. She told police that she cancelled her debit card.

Theft from Bike-Rider

A 40-year-old woman told police that she was riding her bike on Flushing Avenue at Grand Avenue on Aug. 14 at about 4:15 p.m. when a 14-year-old boy snatched her Nikon camera and lens, as well as her Kate Spade make-up bag containing various make-up products.

The teen was arrested. The Kings County District Attorney’s office could not provide charge information for him, and The Nabe is withholding his name because of his age.

Domestic Disputes

Jared Drew, 24, was arrested after he allegedly slipped into his 23-year-old ex-girlfriend’s Carlton Avenue apartment in the Walt Whitman Houses at 6 a.m. on Aug. 11 while she slept and choked, punched and slapped her. The woman had no visible injuries when she reported the attack at 10:40 a.m., police said, but she showed officers iPhone photos of bruising on her neck, face and arms.

Drew was charged with burglary in the second and third degrees, assault in the third degree, criminal trespass in the second degree, menacing in the third degree, criminal trespass in the third degree, trespass and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.