Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

Gone South EndOne bicyclist learned the hard way that two weeks is too long to leave even a locked bicycle unattended in a public space. On May 15, a 50-year-old man left his De Rosa aluminum bike chained to the bike rack in the rear of 375 South End Ave. When he returned on May 29, his bike was missing. The De Rosa is valued at $2,000.

Playground PlunderEven a playground is fertile ground for thieves. At 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, a 28-year-old woman left her property unattended in the Battery Park playground at 1 Battery Place. Her belongings – among them a Bose Bluetooth speaker valued at $400, an Apple iPad Mini priced at $500, a J. Crew purse worth $130, an Anthropologie makeup bag tagged at $100, plus credit cards and a NY State driver’s license – were gone. The total stolen came to $1,130. She also told police that unauthorized charges of $117 had shown up on her stolen bank card.

Construction DestructionSome booze-swilling burglars busted up a bar on Broome Street. The owner of the Fork and Parrot bar at 519 Broome St. told police that sometime between 10 p.m. June 4 and noon on June 6, unknown perpetrators broke into her establishment, which was under construction, vandalizing the premises and stealing tools. Multiple empty bottles of alcohol were found inside the building, and a side window was open. There were no signs of forcible entry. A canvass of the neighborhood turned up nothing. The items stolen were various construction tools valued at $1,000.

Citizen’s ArrestAn alert citizen assisted in the arrest of a burglar. At 2:25 a.m. on Friday, June 10, a male witness observed a man and his accomplice stealing beer cases from the rear of a Manhattan Beer Distributors truck parked in front of 459 Broadway. Police searched the neighborhood, and the witness was able to identify one of the thieves. The accomplice fled in an unknown direction. The items stolen were two 24-bottle cases of Corona beer each valued at $30; one of them was recovered. Jeffrey Williams, age 40, was arrested on June 10 and charged with burglary. He was also wanted on a previous warrant.

Lululemon LoserA burglar was arrested after being seen in the wrong place at the wrong time. At 2:13 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, a sharp-eyed police officer observed a 42-year-old man inside the Lululemon men’s clothing boutique at 127 Prince St. after closing time. A search of the suspect turned up two credit cards in his wallet that were not his. Pedro Delgado Rivera was arrested June 11 and charged with burglary.