Crime Watch

| 17 Feb 2015 | 04:04

Handing It Over Apparently, in an urban metropolis, even the public bathroom isn't safe from enterprising robbers, or so a recent incident reported by the NYPD would indicate. A 57-year-old woman was at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in the early afternoon when she made her way to the restrooms. After selecting a stall, she placed her bag on a hook on the stall door, but no sooner had she closed that door than a man ran up, swooped his arm over the door and snatched her purse. Fortunately, the woman had only about $100 in cash and a few credit cards in her bag. The Jewels on the Desk According to police, a thief recently nabbed $4,200 in jewelry from a specialty store on Spring Street in Soho. Police say that while the owner's attention was elsewhere, an unidentified thief lifted a $3,000 platinum and diamond ring and a $1,200 14-karat white gold mounting from the owner's desk. Don't Trust a Friend With Your Wallet A 23-year-old woman was whiling away the hours dancing at a bar on South Street recently when her wallet was stolen out of her friend's purse. The friend told police she had left her bag on a chair while the pair jived and grooved. The woman canceled her cards after noticing a suspicious purchase at an MTA ticket machine. Never Leave Your Bags Unattended In a surprising move, a 69-year-old man told police that while at a beauty store in Soho one recent evening, he left his briefcase at the front of the shop and went on a 10-minute tour of the premises. When he returned, his bag was nowhere to be seen, and whoever might have taken it made off with a lot of loot. The briefcase reportedly contained a $2,000 Lenovo laptop, a $200 camera, $100 worth of drafting pens and pencils and a $150 tape measure. Citizens' Arrest Police were called to the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets recently at almost 10 p.m. after receiving complaints from local residents that a man was excessively shouting. Police say that after the 21-year-old man refused to quiet down, they attempted to arrest him but he flailed his arms and legs. An officer was reportedly injured in the process. Hold On to That iPhone iPhone thefts-at least according to the complaints we look at-seem to mainly occur in the subway systems, where thieves not only have close access to the devices but usually a means of a quick getaway by stepping off the train at a stop. But in a recent NYPD case, a 24-year-old woman's phone was taken from her while she was on the street. She told police that she was at the intersection of Spring and Wooster streets and had been intercepted a few times by a 25-year-old guy. When she attempted to cross the street, he ran by, snatched her iPhone and ran away. The woman told police that she attempted to use the Find My iPhone application but to no avail, as the phone was turned off. Stolen Bike A 40-year-old man was given a rude awakening recently when he wrapped up his workday. According to police, the man pulled up to the corner of Greenwich and Spring streets at 9:30 a.m. and parked his Yamaha R6 motorcycle. When he returned to the spot after work, he discovered that his bike, worth roughly $7,000, was stolen.