Crime Report: Grand Larcenies and Thefts from Long Island University Students

By Chinwe Oniah

Nineteen felonies and three arrests were reported in the 88th Precinct two weeks ago, up from 15 felonies and one arrest the week before. Crime trends included grand larcenies of motorcycles, wallets and household appliances. A motorcycle and a moped were stolen from Long Island University Brooklyn students, and a 12-year-old was arrested for attempting to boost a car off the street. Burglars scoured an empty apartment, pickpockets targeted restaurant patrons, and a man was hospitalized after a woman allegedly pummeled him with a microwave.

Robberies

-Three men and one woman – one wielding a gun and another pretending to have a gun –  entered Pratt Wine and Liquor on Washington Avenue and stole cash, Lotto scratch cards and a Nokia cell phone – a total value of $1,500  – at 10 p.m. on Oct. 30, a day known as Mischief Night, the night before Halloween when revelers play pranks around their neighborhood. “Put your hands up,” one thief told the victim. Two of the thieves blocked the front and rear doors. “Do you have any more money?” one asked before fleeing on Washington Avenue.

-A 41-year-old man told police he was attacked and robbed on Ashland Place at 2:45 p.m. on Nov. 3. The victim was headed to a soybean store on DeKalb Avenue when someone punched him on the right side of his neck. He fought back, but during the struggle, the attacker took his government-issued phone and wallet containing his debit card and $50, he told police.

-A woman told police a masked man robbed her of her iPhone in the Walt Whitman Houses at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 29. The phone was turned off and could not be tracked, police said.

Burglaries

-Someone entered a woman’s Clermont Avenue home on Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. and stole an Xbox 360, a wallet and piggy bank containing money and remote controls. There was no forced entry, police said. The building had a security camera in the lobby, according to cops. Police canvassed the area, but could not find the thief or the stolen property.

-On Oct. 29, burglars broke into a South Elliot Place home, cops said. The 29-year-old woman said she locked her door when she left for work that morning at 7:15 a.m. She was notified and came home to see her front door was broken into. No security cameras were nearby, police said.

-Burglars stole a General Electric refrigerator and stove from an empty apartment available for rent on Putnam Avenue on Oct. 31 between 7:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., cops said. The front door was pried open, according to police.

Larcenies

-A thief stole a 22-year-old Long Island University Brooklyn student’s moped while he was in class, on Oct. 28 between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., cops said. The moped was parked legally on the corner of Fleet Place and Fair Street, according to police. The student said he purchased the moped in May for $800, made $350 worth of repairs and added $50 worth of accessories. There are security cameras on the southwest corner of Fleet Street by building G of the LIU campus, cops said. The student said he might have left his keys in the ignition.

-Another LIU student’s motorcycle was stolen while he was in class on Oct. 29 between 1:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. He parked his motorcycle on the corner of Clinton and Willoughby avenues and discovered it was gone when he returned three and half hours later. The area was canvassed, but nothing was found. A building on Clinton Avenue had a surveillance camera that the security of the building made available to police officers.

-A 29-year-old woman’s wallet was stolen while she was at Brooklyn Public House on DeKalb Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues on Oct 28. While at the bar, she put her bag across the back of her seat. When she reached for her wallet to pay, she realized it was missing. She said she didn’t notice anyone remove her wallet, which contained her Colorado driver’s license, her social security card and several credit cards.

-A Long Island University Brooklyn student’s identification case containing her driver’s license, school ID and a debit card was stolen from the school at 6 p.m. on Oct. 30. The 45-year-old woman left it on top of her books that were on her desk when she went to the bathroom. When she returned, the case was gone.

-A 35-year-old woman discovered her wallet had been stolen when she attempted to pay for drinks at Madiba’s Restaurant on DeKalb Avenue on Oct. 31 at 8:15 p.m. She said the wallet was in her purse when she left her apartment. She later received a text message from her bank saying that someone attempted to make two purchases with her card. Her wallet contained two Italian passports, her credit cards, and keys.

-A 47-year-old man parked his car on Lefferts Place at Saint James Place on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m., and when he returned the next day at 7 p.m., it was gone, he told police. In his car was a MacBook Pro computer, a pair of designer sunglasses and a black Swiss army backpack, worth a total of $1,350.

-A police officer arrested a 12-year-old, who was attempting to steal a 1973 Honda parked on South Oxford at Lafayette Avenue on Oct. 29 at 3:50 p.m. The child was apprehended, but the Kings County District Attorney’s office could not provide charge information.

-On Oct 29, a 40-year-old woman parked her 2009 Toyota RAV4 on Vanderbilt Avenue at noon. When she returned two hours later, her car was missing. Police called the tow pound and canvassed the area, but the car could not be found.

-A 26-year-old woman parked her 2012 Dodge Charger at Park Avenue and Adelphi Street on Oct. 30 at 9:30 p.m. and told police she discovered it missing the next day 8:30 p.m. Police found broken glass where the vehicle had been parked.

-On Oct. 31 at 6 p.m., a 23-year-old man’s 1996 Nissan Maxima was removed from its parking spot on Saint Edwards Street. The victim said that he locked his car and he had no outstanding parking summonses. Police found broken glass where the car was parked.

Domestic Assaults

-A woman struck her son’s father with an umbrella inside his Lafayette Avenue home on Nov. 1 at 9:40 p.m., police said. The woman and man argued before the umbrella attack, which left a welt on the left side of the man’s face.

-Annette Cuspert was arrested on Nov. 2 after she allegedly threw a microwave oven at a 53-year-old man in a Walt Whitman Houses apartment, knocking him over. A witness told police she heard the two arguing, followed by a loud crash. Then Cuspert shouted, “You deserved that,” the witness said.

When police arrived, the victim was unconscious and bleeding from his head. He was taken to Kings County Hospital Center and treated for head trauma and a minor skull fracture.

Following her arrest, Cuspert, 46, told officers that she pushed the victim down the stairs, police reported.

Cuspert was charged with attempted assault in the first and second degrees, assault in the second and third degrees, menacing in the second and third degrees, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

-On Nov. 2 at 5:30 a.m., a 25-year-old woman called 911 after her boyfriend allegedly slapped her twice and choked her following an argument on South Portland Avenue in which he accused her of cheating on him. As the woman called 911, her boyfriend allegedly pushed her to the ground, choked her and hit her in the face, causing her right eye to swell. She also suffered scratches on her left arm and neck.

Glenn Freeman, 38, was arrested and 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 Kings County District Attorney’s office. Freeman also has an outstanding bench warrant, though police could not confirm what the warrant was for.