Crime Watch

ART THIEF ON MAIN STREET A 53-year-old man left an unknown man in his art studio on Main Street on Roosevelt Island on the afternoon of Jan. 29. After he returned five minutes later, the man discovered that one of his paintings had vanished from the gallery wall. The artwork, "Kids in the Sun Painting" by Dido Lubinsky, is worth $2,500. No cameras were at the location, and no arrests have yet been made. STRANGERS ASSAULT MAN ON STREET AFTER ARGUMENT On Saturday, Jan. 26, a 34-year-old man reported that he was walking near East 82nd Street when four or five suspects bumped into him. After an exchange of words, the suspects circled him and started to beat him, causing lacerations to their victim's eye. The man walked to the hospital himself, and called police. But he had left the hospital by the time the police arrived. The case has been closed, although no arrests have been made. THIS IS A STICKUP! On the afternoon of Jan. 28, an unknown man entered a bank on Third Avenue and walked up to the teller window. He pushed a note under the window that said, "Don't be stupid, just give me $100s, $50s and $20s." The bank teller gave $1,800 to the perpetrator, who then exited the bank, fleeing down 88th Street. Surveillance footage is available. INTERNET HACKING CASE A 31-year-old woman who lives on East 63rd Street reported that her bank account was accessed remotely on Jan. 25, and $8,000 was removed from her account. After calling her bank, investigators traced the account activity to the woman's workplace address. The theft occurred sometime between Jan. 2 and Jan. 25. Chase knows the recipient of the money, but will not disclose it at this time. The woman closed all of her accounts. No arrests have been made. MEN ARRESTED FOR CELLPHONE THEFT A 33-year-old man reported that in the middle of the night on Jan. 25, he was walking down East 85th Street when two men approached him and asked for the time. The two unknown men walked away, then started to circle back. The man walked into a deli to avoid them, and after he exited, the two perpetrators confronted him. One said, "Don't freak out." Their victim tried to back away, but the assailants punched and kicked him. One of the men took away his victim's iPhone. Both attackers were arrested for robbery. INTOXICATED MAN BEATEN AND ROBBED OF PHONE Late at night on Jan. 30, a 33-year-old man was returning home from a night of carousing. He was approached by two unknown men on East 79th Street and shoved to the ground, where they repeatedly kicked and punched him. The assailants then removed their victim's phone from his pocket and fled the scene. There were no cameras on the street. The victim described his assailants as two white men: one, bearded and about 5'8", wearing a dark hat, and the other about the same height and bald. The Blackberry phone, worth $250, has not been recovered.