Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

We Will Steal No Wine – Before Its TimeOne burglar displayed a taste for some fine vintages. Sometime between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Feb. 22, an unknown perpetrator broke into the cellar door of a restaurant on First Avenue in the lower 70s, entering the wine cellar and stealing $9,000 worth of vintage wine. The next day, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., the grape grabber repeated the feat, making off with another $1,500 in wine.

Hole-y MolyA local store’s safe remained safe after a botched burglary. At 10 a.m. on Feb. 25, the owner of a store on Lexington Avenue in the 70s entered his shop to discover three holes in the wall indicating that someone had tried to gain access to the premises overnight. The burglar’s presumed target was the business safe, but nothing had been taken, as the safe had apparently proved too tough to crack. Police are investigating.

Premises Predators CollaredPolice made arrests in two separate incidents where victims were followed and robbed in their buildings. The first robbery took place at 7 p.m. on Feb. 16. A man in his 50s followed a woman in her 70s into her building on East 76th Street between First and Second Avenues. He motioned to his pocket and said, ‟I have a gun and will kill you if you do not give me all your money.” The victim handed over $280 in cash, at which point the robber fled. A suspect was arrested on robbery charges Feb. 18.

The second robbery occurred between 7 and 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 20. A 30-year-old woman was approached from behind by a man in his forties in her building on East 87th Street between Second and Third Avenues. The man stole her iPhone 5 with case and $15 in cash. Police arrested a suspect on Feb. 21, and charged him with robbery.