Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

What a RacquetA New Jersey man apparently did not know how risky it is to leave valuables in a Big Apple gym locker room. A 22-year-old Middletown resident told police that while working out at the New York Health and Racquet Club on Whitehall Street between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., someone stole property worth more than $2,700 from the locker room. The items stolen included a MacBook Pro laptop valued at $2,200, an iPhone 6s priced at $500, $13 in cash, a wallet, driver’s license, and various credit and debit cards. The total stolen came to $2,713.

Stowing ShadeTwo shoplifters threw some shade at a sunglass store recently. Sometime from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 13, two perpetrators removed merchandise worth more than $3,000 from a display area at the Spring Street Sunglass Hut. They placed the sunglasses inside their jacket sleeves and then left the store without paying. The pernicious pair made off with sixteen pairs of shades, including models from Ray-Ban, Oakley, Maui Jim, and Persol, with a total value of $3,235.

Salon Ripped OffSomeone clipped some cash from a beauty salon recently. At noon on April 26, a 50-year-old man working for Arthur’s beauty and nail salon at 455 North End Ave. was making change for a customer from an unsecured drawer when he realized that a large amount of cash was missing. There were no signs of forced entry, and security management, the manager, and the shop’s owner all had keys to the business. The last time the cash, $2,000, had been seen was at 7 p.m. on Friday the 22nd.

Un-AmericanShoplifting incidents don’t help the bottom line. At 7:10 p.m. on April 29, three men went into the American Apparel store at 140 West Broadway, took a number of items off the racks, and ran out of the store. Police searched the area but could not locate the thieves or the missing merchandise. The items stolen included a variety of body suits, dresses, and tops with a total value of $1,426.

Witness for the ProsecutionA burglar was brought to justice thanks to a determined witness. At 9:30 p.m. on April 21, a 23-year-old man saw a man in his 40s walking out of the front entrance of 120 Nassau Street with some audio equipment in his hands. The witness approached the man, later identified as Jose Santiago, 44, who dropped the items and fled the location. The young witness did not give up, however, and stopped the Santiago on Beekman Street and alerted a nearby officer. The officer interviewed the man whose equipment had been stolen and confirmed that Santiago had entered through the building’s front door and removed the items. The property included a Sony CD player valued at $100 and a Denon AVR-685 receiver priced at $500. Santiago was charged with burglary.