Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

Jailbird from 93rdPolice arrested an East 93rd Street resident on burglary and other charges on Oct. 22 following a mini crime spree in the neighborhood. The man is suspected of having taken a bicycle from an East 91st Street building on Oct. 16, taking a leaf blower from the same building the following day and, on Oct. 18, taking a laundry cart and other materials from an East 86th Street basement. All three incidents were captured on surveillance cameras and the suspected thief was taken into custody when a police officer spotted a 55-year-old cutting a lock securing a bicycle to a light pole. He arrested the man on charges of burglary, possession of burglar’s tools and petit larceny.

Hospital HoodlumA 53-year-old was taken into custody in Presbyterian Hospital on the early morning of Oct. 28 after a 72-year-old male patient saw the man taking his possessions. Hospital security stopped the suspected thief and found the stolen items on his person. These included the victim’s cell phone, a Barbour jacket, a wallet with $64 in cash, a Samsung Galaxy phone and other items. The suspect’s identity was not released.

Toothpaste for TwoCops collared one of two suspected shoplifters at Third Avenue uptown Duane Reade store on Oct. 26. From 9:15 to 9:31 p.m. on Oct. 26, two young men entered the Duane Reade store at 1550 Third Ave. and removed store merchandise from shelves before concealing the items on their persons, police said. As it happened, a police officer and his sergeant were in the store and witnessed the two perpetrators in action. The young thieves attempted to steal products including dozens of tubes of toothpaste, deodorant and other items with a resale value of nearly $800. As the officers attempted to arrest the pair, one of them -- the 16-year-old -- threw a bag at the officer, punched him, and kicked and flailed as he was being handcuffed, injuring both the arresting officer and his sergeant, who were both later treated for their injuries and released. The second shoplifter got away.

Countering a CounterfeiterA 17-year-old man West 132nd Street resident was arrested on Oct. 26 for paying for merchandise at Bloomingdale’s using counterfeit money and then trying to return the items at the store for a refund in real currency. When he was arrested, police found more counterfeit money in his wallet. He was charged with forgery, petit larceny and possession of stolen property. He had attempted to buy and return two pairs of jeans and a Burberry jacket.

One Building, Three BurglariesSomeone attempted to break into three apartments in one building in one day. Between the hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5:53 p.m. on Oct. 25, an unknown perpetrator damaged the door lock of an apartment inside a First Avenue building, taking several of the resident’s belongings, including a Bulgari bracelet and a diamond bracelet. Police suspect the perpetrator then tried and failed to get into another apartment in the building but succeeded in entering a third apartment, from where he took a laptop and a pair of sunglasses.