Crime Watch

Spread 'Em Cops aren't the only ones who will tellyou to place your hands on a car-criminalswill tell you to do so if they want tomake off with your stuff and keep frombeing seen. On Monday, March 19, nearFirst Avenue and 74th Street at 9 p.m., aman was pushed against a car by somecrooks who demanded he empty thecontents of his pockets, which happenedto be the ever-valuable iPhone 4s with acase and a set of headphones. Two menhave been arrested for the crime. Dancing in the Dark Going out to a nightclub on a Saturdaynight is usually an act that can be characterizedby dancing and drinking.Unfortunately for one woman on theUpper East Side, the last part of thisequation was complicated by robbery.The victim was walking home at about5 a.m. on Sunday when a thief ran up toher from behind and snatched her purse.She lost credit and bank cards, a wallet,cell phone and a Louis Vuitton bag. So far,there have been no arrests. Phone Lover Fights It's no surprise that iPhones havebecome the newest target for streetthieves. Despite the multitude of GPStrackers and apps that work to preventphones from being stolen, they are stilla hot item on the street. On Friday nighton Second Avenue, a woman was talking on her phone, oblivious to the group ofmen that were meandering her way. Oneof the lowbrow crooks tried to take herphone by punching her in the face andrunning, but the victim would have noneof it. After being hit hard, the womanemployed a vice-like grip to retain herphone. The perp, seeing that this womanwas taking his punches with ease, decidedthat he and his friends should splitbefore their own phones were stolen. Sofar, no arrests have been made. Beer Can Battles Bar fights are never a fun occurrence.The atmosphere of the night is destroyed,people yell and scream and someone alwaysends up with a bloody nose-or worse. OneUpper East Side man was stricken with justa scenario-as well as a beer can to theface-last Saturday night. After drinking ata pub on Second Avenue, the victim got intoan altercation with a young man and wasbeaned in the face. The attacker tried toflee the scene but was later apprehended.He is being charged with assault. R-E-S-P-E-C-T Mama always said: If you do not haveanything nice to say, don't say anything atall. A man who was shopping at a chainstore in the Upper East Side learned thislesson the hard way. On Saturday, March17, the man enraged the female clerkbehind the counter by "being disrespectful."The argument ended with her smashinga glass bottle upon his skull. Realizingthat a felonious assault was probably notthe best way to teach someone to respectwomen, she fled her place of business andhas not been seen since. Midnight Snacking Locking your door is a safe way tokeep intruders out of a place of business,but having a lock will not do much if thedoor is made of glass and there is novideo surveillance in place. On TuesdayMarch 13, an employee of a restaurant onFirst Avenue went into work to open upfor the day only to find that a midnightvisitor had already opened the door for him. The burglar made his way into therestaurant and proceeded to make offwith several knives and a laptop. So far,there have been no arrests in the case.