Crime Report: Thefts on the Subway, Stolen Wallets and Home Burglaries

We’re back with our weekly crime blotter after a two-week blotter blackout that began when the NYPD restricted community journalists’ access to the forms detailing reported crimes in every precinct. After CUNY Graduate School of Journalism Dean Stephen B. Shepard sent a letter of protest to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly Dec. 9, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information John McCarthy promptly said journalists across the city will still be allowed to view the weekly crime reports in a timely manner – provided they make requests through his office. Although that method did not work for us at first – because 88th Precinct officials had not yet decided on a “uniform” way to release crime report information to the media – Deputy Inspector Scott Henderson informed us last week that we may continue visiting the precinct and copying down the weekly reports as usual.

Three subway thefts, including a gunpoint robbery, were reported in the 88th Precinct last week.

In the robbery, a man wearing a black ski mask pulled a silver revolver from under his coat and demanded, “Give me everything,” while three of his confederates sat behind the victim and fished through his belongings, cops said. When the train reached Lafayette Avenue, the thieves fled, carrying the man’s Samsung Galaxy 3 phone, silver metal chain, Jordan sneakers, a Western Beef check for $114 and $80 in cash.

Including the crime above, 20 felonies, including stolen wallets, home burglaries and fraudulent use of bank accounts, were reported and two arrests were reported between Dec. 16 and 22. There were two arrests.

Other Subway Thefts

-A 28-year-old woman told police that a man allegedly knocked into her and stole her Commuter Check MasterCard, United Healthcare MasterCard and HSBC debit card on a northbound 3 train on Dec. 13 at about 2 p.m. The thief made several unauthorized transactions on the cards, though police could not confirm how much was charged.

Police tracked down William Rios, 45, the alleged fraudster. He was charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth and fifth degrees and petit larceny, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

-A 62-year-old woman told police that someone stole her wallet at the Nevins Street subway station on Dec. 20 around 7 p.m.  She said she placed her wallet in her purse while refilling her MetroCard, and reached into her bag minutes later to find that the wallet – containing a driver’s license, HSBC debit card, health insurance cards and a silver dollar – was gone. The woman cancelled her debit card and told police no one had used it.

Street Robberies

-A man snatched a 17-year-old girl’s iPhone while she was walking at the corner of Lafayette and Carlton avenues and talking on the phone on Dec. 20 at about 3:20 p.m., police said.

-A 27-year-old man told police that two men teamed up to steal his cell phone on DeKalb Avenue at Adelphi Street on Dec. 20 at about 7:10 p.m. He said that one of the men tapped him on the shoulder and said “Sir,” while the other snatched his phone and ran north on Adelphi Street. Police searched the area but could not find the thieves or the phone.

-A 26-year-old woman told police that she was walking on Fulton Street at Fort Greene Place on Dec. 19 at about 11 a.m. when someone zipped open her backpack, took her iPhone and fled. The woman told police she followed the thief, but soon lost sight of the person. Police canvassed the area but could not find the phone or the thief.

-A 51-year-old woman told police that she was walking west on Park Avenue at Washington Avenue on Dec. 19 at about 11:10 a.m. when a man on a bike grabbed her bag – containing $3,000 in cash, an iPhone and work-related paperwork – and fled.

Stolen Wallets

-A 61-year-old woman told police that she was at her doctor’s office on the Flatbush Avenue Extension on Dec. 11 when a thief took her wallet – containing $260 in cash, a U.S. passport, a Bank of America debit card, a Sears card and a Social Security card – between about 1 and 1:30 p.m. The thief was an acquaintance of the victim, who lived on her floor at a shelter, according to a witness. Police could not confirm which shelter the victim and thief resided at.

-A 38-year-old woman told police that on Dec. 16, someone stole her wallet – containing a credit card, driver’s license, Social Security Card, Hunter College student identification card and prescription card – and ran up $1,000 in charges on the credit card. She said she last saw her wallet on Fort Greene Place at Lafayette Avenue at 9:40 a.m. At 6:15 p.m., when she was in the train station about to head home from work, she realized it was no longer in her coat pocket, where she had left it. She told police she returned to her workplace to check for her wallet, but it was not there. The woman told police she had a piece of paper with her bank account access information inside her wallet.  She found out about the fraudulent charges when she called her bank to cancel the card, police said.

-A woman told police that she walked away from her locker at her Clermont Avenue workplace on Dec. 13 at about 2 p.m., and when she returned 10 minutes later, a router and a wallet – containing $140 in cash, credit cards and an MCU debit card – were gone. The woman said a co-worker stole the items, but she could not confirm which one. The woman told police that she cancelled her cards before any fraudulent transactions could be made.

Stolen Paintings from Pratt

Jason M. Davis, 19, was arrested after he allegedly swiped 16 paintings from the hallway of East Hall at Pratt Institute on Dec. 21 at about 7:50 p.m. Pratt security officers stopped Davis – who is not a Pratt student – carrying the paintings in a duffle bag, and notified police.

Davis was charged with burglary in the third degree, criminal trespass in the second degree, trespass, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Home Burglaries

-A 65-year-old man told police he left his North Elliott Place home on Dec. 9 at 6 a.m., and returned on Dec. 15 at 10:45 p.m. to find the window open, and his air conditioning and television missing.

-A burglar broke in through the rear window of a 39-year-old man’s Adelphi Street apartment while he was away on Dec. 15 from about 5 to 8:30 p.m. and stole many items, cops said. The thief took $4,030 in cash, silver certificate bills and gold coins, a Mac computer, a PlayStation 3, a phone, a video camera and assorted jewelry, according to police. The man told police his live-in girlfriend informed him about the burglary when he returned home. When a neighbor saw a strange man in the apartment and asked how he got in, the thief replied that the tenant had let him in, police said.

-A 23-year-old woman told police that she left her Washington Avenue apartment on Dec. 16 at 9:30 a.m. and when she returned at 7 p.m., her Mac desktop and laptop, iPod and hard drive – worth a total of $4,400 – were missing. She noted that when she returned home, only the bottom lock on her door, which is automatic, was locked. The woman told police she tried to use software to track her laptop, but found that it was offline. Police found that the woman’s bedroom window, with fire escape access, was open. There are no nearby security cameras, cops said.

Stolen Car

A 60-year-old woman told police that she parked her car on the corner of Gates and Clinton Avenues on Dec. 17 at 8:30 p.m., and when she returned the next day at 3:40 p.m., the car was gone. The car was not placed in an impoundment lot, nor was it towed by the city or taken to the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s tow pound, cops said.

Thefts from Vehicles

-A 25-year-old man told police that he parked his minivan on Prince Street near the Flatbush Avenue Extension on Dec. 18 at about 4 p.m. When he returned at 10 p.m., the rear driver’s side window was broken and a MacBook Pro, yellow metal earrings, a Social Security card and miscellaneous papers, were gone from inside. Police did not notice any damage to the minivan’s steering column.

-An Ultimate Foods, Inc. employee told police he parked his commercial truck on Lafayette Avenue near South Elliott Place on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. He said that when he returned 15 minutes later, $1,578 had been stolen from inside. There was no sign of forced entry, cops said.

Unauthorized Bank Account Usage

-A 20-year-old Greene Avenue resident told police that someone used her personal information to make seven unauthorized charges totaling $1,247.57 to her bank account between Dec. 9 and 11. It is unclear whether the fraudster made the charges at stores or online, police said. The woman told police that she never lost her card. She added that she called her bank to cancel the card once she discovered the fraudulent charges.

Domestic Dispute

A 19-year-old Ingersoll Houses resident told police that his brother swung a box cutter in his face and threatened to kill him on Dec. 17 at about noon. The attack occurred after the victim asked his brother why he poured bleach in his PlayStation 3. The brother accused the victim of stealing his marijuana, cops said. The victim left his apartment to make a report at the 84th Precinct, according to police. He was uninjured, cops said.