Crime Report: Mostly Women Arrested and a Trend in Car Thefts

By Melanie Bencosme

Arrests made in the 88th Precinct last week showed a higher ratio in female arrests than the previous week. Although the number of arrests in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill dropped from eight arrests to just three last week, the dynamics have changed. The previous week, one of the eight arrested was a woman and last week, one of the three was a man.

One of the women arrested was 17-year-old Destinie Lane. Police say Lane put an 11-year-old boy in a headlock before stealing his iPhone 4 on Sept. 20. The boy was walking to the bus stop from school at 3:30 p.m. on Greene Avenue near Carlton Avenue when the incident occurred.

After three days, police arrested Lane. She faces charges of robbery in the second and third degrees, grand larceny in the fourth degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, menacing in the third degree and attempted petty larceny and harassment in the second degree, according to the Kings County District Attorney’s office.

Including the crime above, 19 felonies were reported in the precinct last week.

Electronics Robberies

-Three teenaged boys punched a 13-year-old boy in the face, kicked him in the chest and snatched his Galaxy S3 phone and sweater as he walked on Greene Avenue near Carlton Avenue on Sept. 20 at 3 p.m., police said. The teens fled the scene, cops said.

This was a day before the previous robbery above in the same area and time.

-An unidentified man swiped a 38-year-old woman’s iPhone 4s while she walked through Fort Greene Park on Sept. 19 at 9:15 a.m., according to officials. Police searched the area but did not find the phone or the thief.

-Someone snatched a 26-year-old woman’s iPhone 4 as she walked along Adelphi Street near Lafayette Avenue while looking down at her phone on Sept. 16 at 5:20 p.m., police said.  The thief was described as a young man, approximately 17 years old. Police canvassed the area with the victim but were unsuccessful.

A Robber Who’s Coping with the Heat

September has brought an Indian summer to the nabe. The warm weather brought fewer fall sweaters and, it seems, more deodorant.

It was 77 degrees on Sept. 21 at 4:51 p.m. when the Walgreens store on Myrtle Avenue at Clermont Avenue was robbed, police say. The thief stole 10 Dove deodorants worth $54 total, before running out of the store. As a store employee tried to apprehend the burglar, the employee sustained a cut on his leg. Police watched security camera footage and found that it was inconclusive.

Assaults on the Elderly

-Donnell F. Mills allegedly punched a 60-year-old man in the stomach and tried to strike him with a piece of wood on Sept. 17 at 4:35 p.m., according to police. The 46-year-old allegedly approached the older man and stated, “You got something to say to me? I’m going to mess you up.”  The victim wasn’t seriously hurt, cops said.

Mills was arrested that evening.  A spokesman for the Kings County District Attorney’s office could not provide information on the arrest or charges against Mills.

-Sharon D. Davis stabbed a 59-year-old man in the stomach after an argument, leaving a cut on his right palm, police said. The fight took place in the Ingersoll Houses on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. It is unclear how the argument started and if the two involved knew each other.

The 52-year-old woman faces charges of assault in the second and third degrees, menacing in the second 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.

The Wave of Auto Thefts

As Grand Theft Auto V sales soared last week, according to the Wall Street Journal, so did the actual numbers of grand theft auto in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, according to police records. In total, five cars and one motorcycle were stolen.

-An 81-year-old man reported his 2000 Lincoln Navigator was stolen on Sept. 18 on Washington Avenue near Myrtle Avenue, police said. The car was last seen the previous evening. Police did not see broken glass at the scene, nor could they find records indicating that the car had been towed. Police searched the area, but could not find the car.

-A 62-year-old man parked his 1996 Dodge Caravan and came back to find it missing from its parking spot on Ryerson Street at Park Avenue on Sept. 19 at 6:30 a.m., cops said. He parked the car the previous day at 11 p.m., according to police. Police did not find any broken glass at the scene. No camera surveillance is available, cops said. Police searched the area for the car, but were unsuccessful.

-A 55-year-old woman told police her 2012 Ford Focus was stolen from its parking spot at Adelphi Street near Park Avenue on Sept. 19 at 10:45 a.m., police said. There was no evidence at the scene, cops said. Police searched the area, but did not find the car.

-A 38-year-old woman reported her 2006 Toyota Prius missing on Saint Edwards Street near Willoughby Street on Sept. 19. There were no surveillance cameras nearby, cops said. Police did not observe any broken glass on the ground. After searching the area, police did not locate the car.

-A 2005 Dodge Caravan was stolen on the corner of Navy Street and Park Avenue, according to police. As with other car thefts last week, police did not find broken glass at the scene and said that there were no security cameras nearby. The 29-year-old man’s vehicle was reported missing at 10:45 p.m. on Sept. 20. Police did not find the car after canvassing the area.

-A 2009 Yamaha motorcycle was stolen after a 38-year-old man left it chained to a fence on Lafayette Avenue near Steuben Street on Sept. 20, police said. When he returned to the parking spot at 11:50 p.m. he found the remains of the chain and pieces of his motorcycle, but the bike was gone. Cops searched the area but could not find the motorcycle.

Bicycle Theft

-A 29-year-old man’s $1,100 bicycle and accessories were took on Myrtle Avenue near Clinton Avenue on Sept. 16, according to officials.

-A $1,025 bicycle was stolen on Sept. 16 after the 31-year-old owner parked his bike on the inside of the front gate of his residence on Lefferts Place near Classon Avenue but failed to lock it to the gate.

Commercial Burglary

-A Garmin GPS and a small device for printing receipts were stolen from a delivery truck on Cumberland Street by Greene Avenue on Sept. 19 at 1:15 p.m., according to police. The driver was outside the truck making a delivery when the driver’s-side window was smashed and the items were taken.

-Paperwork was stolen from Metropolitan Artificial, a commercial business located on Flushing Avenue near 8th Street on Sept. 19, cops said. The burglar broke a window leading to the office and stole paperwork from a desk, according to police.

Stolen Jewelry

-A 35-year-old man told police that someone stole his wife’s earrings, worth $6,000, from a jewelry box in their home on Willoughby Street near Fleet Place, police said. He reported the items missing on Sept. 15.

-Jewelry and other items worth a total of $2,300 were stolen from a 35-year-old woman’s home on South Oxford Street, police said. The jewelry included a vintage gold braided necklace, a gold ring and a broken gold necklace. A Nikon F3 camera and other accessories also went missing on Sept. 9, cops said.