Crime Watch

Compiled by Megan Bungeroth SHOPPING SPREE GONE AWRY A local woman was shopping at a high-end clothing store on Columbus Avenue on Friday, Sept. 14. She placed her purse on a table while she was shopping, paid for her clothes, and left the store before she remembered that she didn't have her purse with her. When she returned to the store in a panic, she was relieved to find the purse where she had accidentally left it-but one thing was missing. An unknown person had stolen a small orange bag containing a Hermès Collier de Chien bracelet, a popular leather and hardware number modeled after a dog collar and worth a whopping $1,150. CLUB OWNERLOSES CASH In the wee morning hours of Saturday, Sept. 15, a 50-year-old nightclub owner was walking home from his place of business. When he reached his West 81st Street address, an unknown man accosted him on the street. The perp flashed a silver firearm and demanded that the victim hand over his bag. When he refused, the perp struck him multiple times in the head with his pistol, causing severe lacerations, and was able to grab the bag and flee on foot east toward Columbus Avenue. The victim lost his $200 iPhone as well as his club's nightly cash earnings, to the tune of $8,000. ELDERLY WOMAN DUPED A man successfully tricked an 86-year-old Upper West Side resident last week, using a classic "pigeon drop" scam, a crime that police say is designed to target older people. An unknown man approached his victim on the street at 10:40 a.m., near West 81st Street and West End Avenue. He showed the woman an envelope filled with cash that he just happened to find on the street nearby, and offered to split the money with her if she gave him a "finder's fee." The woman agreed and walked with her supposed partner-in-luck to her bank, where she proceeded to withdraw $2,000 in cash. She handed over the money and the man walked out, leaving her with what turned out to be a fat stack of counterfeit bills. VERY BAD LANDLORD The landlord of nightmares is wanted for felony assault after an argument about rent got way out of hand last week. A 56-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman were sharing an apartment on West 71st Street. Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, the man they say was their landlord-they were subletting the apartment from him-came in to discuss the rent. He demanded that they pay an increased rate, and when they refused, his counter-offer came at the end of a wooden baseball bat. The suspect beat the man in the head with the bat, causing several lacerations, before running off. The victim was taken to St. Luke's to treat his injuries, and the police could not immediately find the violent landlord after conducting a canvas. RESTAURANT RIP-OFF On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the owner of a local diner on Columbus Avenue came to open his restaurant in the morning and got a rude surprise. Someone had broken in and pried open the door to the back office, stealing a Touch Dynamics computer system. The missing electronics are worth $25,000.