Crime Watch

Knife AssaultA man was robbed at knifepoint on East 73rd Street in the early morning of Friday, Jan. 6, police said. The 20-year-old was walking west between Third and Lexington Avenues about 3 a.m. when two men approached him from behind him and threatened him with a knife. They wound up cutting the back of the victim’s jacket with the knife before taking his wallet and fleeing on foot. The stolen wallet contained four credit cards, a MetroCard, and $25 cash. The victim was not injured, police said.

Cross LossPickpockets continue to find victims on crosstown buses. On Dec. 29, a 55-year-old woman got off the crosstown bus at Fifth Avenue and East 86th Street and found that her closed bag was now open and her wallet missing. The items stolen included a $1,500 Louis Vuitton wallet, $500 in cash, six credit cards, a Metro North card, a driver’s license and store cards. No unauthorized usage had showed up at the time of the police report.

Cheese LouiseMost people enjoy cheese, but one man may come to fear it. At about 9 p.m. Jan. 4, a verbal dispute at the Morton Williams store at 1066 Third Ave. escalated to a case of assault when a 62-year-old male Upper East Side resident threw a block of cheese at a 38 Matt-year-old man from Brooklyn who was entering the store. The 38-year-old experienced substantial pain as a result of the assault, and the older man was charged with assault 2 for using cheese as a weapon.

Fitting EndScore another win for police and the Bloomingdale’s loss-prevention team. On Jan. 2, three women — a 41-year-old from Brooklyn, a 29-year-old from the Bronx, and a 30-year-old from Brooklyn — took items of merchandise worth nearly $6,000 into the fitting rooms at Bloomingdale’s, hid them in shopping bags, and attempted to leave the store without paying. Loss prevention personnel intercepted the women and found the missing items: jackets, a coat, two pairs of jeans, a dress and a Burberry jumper, with a combined value of $5,807. The three shoplifters were arrested and charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and possession of burglar tools.

BB BombardmentBB pellets are more than toys, as one local establishment discovered. On Jan. 5, someone shot the front glass window of the Passion cleaners at 1805 First Avenue with BB pellets, causing $800 in damage. No injuries were reported.