Crime Watch
Check fished out of mailbox and alteredA thief turned a check for less than $50 into nearly $5,000. On Monday, Dec. 17, 2018, a 64-year-old woman wrote a check for $43.31 to pay a bill. She mailed the check using an outdoor mailbox in Queens. When she checked her account balance on Jan. 24 of this year, she discovered that her check had been altered and made payable to a Kayla Gibson in the amount of $4,700 by an unknown perpetrator. Police said the altered check had been deposited in an ATM machine at 502 Park Ave in Manhattan.
Woman Arrested for Identity TheftAround noon on Saturday, Feb. 9, a 26-year-old woman tried to withdraw $2,600 from a compromised account using a fake Connecticut driver’s license, at the Capital One bank at 249 East 86th St., police said. An officer apprehended the woman inside the bank, where she was found to be in possession of a credit card as well as alleged crack and heroin drug paraphernalia. The woman whose account had been compromised told police she had not given the suspect permission to withdraw funds. Meagan Greer was arrested at the bank and charged with identity theft.
a Whole lot of rolling papersAccording to police, on Saturday, Feb. 9, a 14-year-old male entered the Eastside Deli and Convenience store at 1390 Third Ave. in the company of two other persons. The teen pushed a display shelf to the floor, causing damage, before removing another display containing rolling papers and fleeing the location without paying for the items, police said. Officers caught up with the suspect in front of 30 E. 71st St., where he was arrested and charged with criminal mischief. The 218 packages of rolling papers stolen and recovered were valued at $436.
BAD NIGHT AT THE MOVIESA trip to the movies proved expensive for one East Side senior. At 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9, a 77-year-old woman was about to leave the AMC Orpheum theater at 1538 Third Ave. when she realized that her pocketbook felt lighter. She discovered that her wallet and cell phone were missing. And though she found her phone and wallet before leaving the theater, $100 cash, an ID card, a MetroCard and a debit card were gone from the wallet. The victim called her bank and was told that her debit card had been used at a Best Buy store to make a purchase in the amount of $433.
thief has soup for lunchOn Tuesday, Feb. 12, a 33-year-old woman was inside the Fresh & Co. store at 127 East 60th St. about to order lunch when she discovered that her wallet and other items were missing from her purse. She soon found out that her debit and credit cards had been used to purchase soup from the Fresh & Co. store while she was there, a Louis Vuitton bag from Bloomingdale’s, valued at $1,437.15, and something that cost $9.91 at the Starbucks at 1021 Third Ave. Security video inside Bloomingdale’s showed a male perpetrator buying the Vuitton bag. The other items stolen from the purse included a driver’s license, a Bloomingdale’s gift card valued at $300, a buybuy BABY gift card worth $200 and a Gap gift certificate. The total stolen came to $1,956.