Crime Watch

Health-Food Robbery

A man held up two nutrition store employees at gunpoint. At 9:15 PM on Friday, October 4, a 20-year-old male employee at a chain nutrition store on Lexington Avenue reported that a 21-year-old man had entered the store. Another store employee, a 23-year-old man, asked the customer if he needed help, and the customer said no. The second employee then went downstairs to work, when the customer produced a silver handgun and pointed it at the first employee. The customer instructed the employee to give him cash from the register, along with a red bag. Just then, the second employee came upstairs, and the customer pointed his gun at him before taking both employees' cell phones. The customer then told the employees to go downstairs, remove their shirts and pants, and stay inside the bathroom. The employees waited inside between five and 15 minutes before calling 911. Cameras across the street may have captured an image of the robber. In all, the thief stole $900 in cash, a black iPhone, and a white Samsung Galaxy S3.

Wheelchair Asault

A man in a motorized wheelchair thwarted two robbers. At 2:30 PM on Monday, October 7, a 50-year-old man left his home on East 79th Street in his red motorized wheelchair. When he got to 79th Street between First and Second avenues, two unknown men approached him, demanded money, and rifled through his pockets. They were unsuccessful, and the victim punched one of the would-be robbers before he fell from his chair, sustaining minor injuries.

Bad Checks

Unauthorized checks were written against a man's business checking account. At 1:30 PM on Saturday, October 5, a 50-year-old man with a business on East 89th Street was checking his business account, when he found that some checks had been cashed without permission or authorization. He looked through his checkbook and noticed that six checks were missing, while two checks had been cashed, one for $560 and the other for $476, totaling $1,036.

Two-Wheeled Thief

A man on a bicycle struck a woman and swiped her cell phone. At 2:23 AM on Saturday, October 5, a 36-year-old woman was walking southbound on First Avenue at East 70th Street, when an unknown man on a bicycle struck her in the face with his open hand, causing pain, redness, and swelling to her cheek. He also grabbed her cell phone from her hand before fleeing eastbound on East 70th Street and turning northbound on York Avenue. Police searched the area but couldn't locate the cyclist. Cameras on East 70th Street may have captured the incident or a picture of the perpetrator. The phone stolen was a Motorola Android valued at $100.

Online Bank Robbery

Two unauthorized transactions were made against a man's checking account. At 10:15 AM on Saturday, October 5, a 43-year-old man living on East 85th Street was looking over his checking account on his cell phone and discovered that two unauthorized transactions had been made, totaling $9,099. He went to his bank and closed his account. The transactions were withdrawals made inside a branch in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Inappropriate

Unknown perpetrators appropriated a woman's tax refund. At 3:30 PM on Sunday, October 6, a 44-year-old woman living on East 72nd Street reported that unknown perpetrators had used her Social Security number, date of birth, and name to intercept her refund from the New York State income tax department. She said she had not been given any information about where the check was sent or when, nor had she given anyone permission