Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

Riding One, Stealing AnotherA bike-riding bike thief was caught in the act. At 2:55 a.m. on Nov. 8, a 30-year-old man called police to report a larceny in progress at the southeast corner of York Avenue and East 87th Street. He told police that he had seen a man in his 30s with an electric saw, cutting loose a locked-up bike. The bad guy rode off on a bike holding onto the stolen bike. Police searched the area and found the purported thief at a block away on First Avenue, where he dropped the stolen bike but was subsequently stopped by officers outside on East 88th Street. The witness identified the suspect, a 35-year-old from the Bronx, who was charged with petty larceny and possession of stolen goods and burglar tools.

Louse PreventionTwo more people learned first-hand about Bloomingdale’s loss-prevention personnel and procedures. On Nov. 9, a 28-year-old man from the Bronx took some articles of clothing into a fitting room before concealing them in a shopping bag and attempting to leave without paying shortly after 3 p.m., police said. He was detained, arrested, and charged with petty larceny and criminal possession of stolen goods. He had taken a sweatshirt, sweatpants and a sweater worth a total of $750.

Just a few minutes later, a 24-year-old Brooklyn woman from Brooklyn removed items from a display and took them into a fitting room before concealing them in her bag, according to police. She also was stopped and arrested when she tried to leave the store, and charged with the same felonies. She had attempted to take a jacket, lace pajamas, leggings, T-shirts and underwear totaling $795.

Sunspec SuspectsPolice also nabbed two shady individuals stealing shades from a local sunglass store. Between 7:30 and 7:35 p.m. on Nov. 8, two men in their 40s entered the Sunglass Hut location at 1023 Third Ave. and grabbed several pairs of the pricey eyewear before fleeing on foot. Police caught up with the pair, however, and arrested them on charges of grand larceny. The two had lifted 15 pairs of glasses worth nearly $3,000 in total.

Gate BaitThe long arm of the law caught up with a man responsible for a burglary over the summer. Between 5 and 5:30 a.m. back on Aug. 30, a burglar had broken a glass window at the apartment of a 74-year-old man living at 419 East 93rd St. Though there was a gate on the window, the burglar was able to remove a shoulder bag containing a debit card and $50 in cash that was sitting next to the window. Fast forward to 3 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, when detectives from the 19th precinct arrested a 36-year-old man from the Bronx, charging him with that burglary.