Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

Assistance ResistanceA woman was arrested for assaulting a police officer early Thanksgiving morning. At 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26, an officer entered a building at 65 Ellington Parkway in response to a call for assistance. As he was approaching the person in need, a 21-year-old woman stepped in front of him, pushed him, and said, “You do not have the right to come here.” When the officer tried to handcuff the woman, who was later identified as Samantha Brugger, she pushed him and pulled her arms away. When the officer escorted the woman to his police cruiser, she bit him in his left arm and repeatedly kicked him. Finally, when she was seated in the back of the cruiser, she banged her head against the rear passenger’s-side window and kicked the window several times. Brugger was arrested and charged with assault on a peace officer.

Youth beatenA youth attacked by a gang of others had to fend off scooters, not shooters. At 3:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25, a 15-year-old male youth was walking home from school opposite 201 West 93rd St. when a group of six known gang members approached him and started beating him with metal scooters, police said. A 33-year-old male witness told police he recognized the group as belonging to a gang called Money Comes First. The victim, a student at MS 256, was taken to St. Luke’s hospital for treatment. Police

Executive LiftA chain store was victimized in a late-night scam. At 3 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 23, an unknown man called the CVS store at 2495 Broadway, claiming to be a CVS executive who needed to run a system check. The caller spoke with a store cashier and had him activate twelve Amazon gift cards, each valued at $495, and then give the card numbers over the phone. A store employee later determined that the caller was not in fact a CVS executive, and that the Amazon gift cards were obtained illegally. The total amount stolen came to $5,940.

NogoodniksYet another area resident became the victim of ID theft, with unlawful charges to credit card approaching $4,000, by an apparently fictitious couple named Vladimir and Natasha. At 11 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, three charges were made to the Capital One debit card account of a 62-year-old woman living on Columbus Avenue. The woman was still in physical possession of the card and discovered the unauthorized charges only upon receiving a phone call from Priceline, asking her if she was aware of some airline ticket purchases made in her name. The unauthorized charges in the amounts of $1,217, $1,273, and $1,403 — totaling $3,893. Police are investigating.

Scam-O-MaticThis story involves not a check scam but a check-cashing business scammed. At 11:23 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22, an unknown person called the Pay-O-Matic check-cashing business at 551 Columbus Ave., requesting that the business pay its property tax. One of the employees dutifully wired $4,285 via Money Gram to Michigan. The receiver of the funds was an individual named Deborah Vargas.