Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

Fragrant ViolatorIt looks as if one thief may have done some early holiday shoplifting. At 6:10 p.m. on Sept. 27, a man entered the Sephora store at 555 Broadway, removed items perfume worth about $1,700 from a display, and left the store without paying. He was last seen heading southbound on Broadway, where he got into an unidentified motor vehicle and fled the scene. Police searched the area but could not find the thief or the missing merchandise. The items stolen were five bottles of Chanel Chance fragrance valued at $500, six bottles of Chanel Fraiche fragrance priced at $600, and six bottles of Ten 3.4 fragrance costing $600.

Out of Mind, Out of SightIf you cannot attend to your belongings, you can be sure that a robber will. At 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 27, a 52-year-old man placed his bag down on the subway stairs in the Fulton Street station to take a phone call. After he boarded his train, he realized that he had left his bag on the stairs. When he returned to Fulton Street, the bag was missing. He canceled his credit cards, but unauthorized charges had already appeared. The laptop in his bag was untrackable. The items stolen included the laptop valued at $1,700, a green card, a Social Security card, a Connecticut driver’s license, house and car keys, paperwork, a wallet, and the credit cards. The total stolen came to $1,700.

U-Lock U-LoseEven a good lock is no guarantee that a bike will not be stolen. At 6:39 p.m. on Sept. 27, a 29-year-old man locked and secured his red Allez Sport specialized bike to the bike rack in front of 101 Reade Street. When he returned the following day at 12:15 p.m., his bike was missing and the U-Lock he had used to secure the bike had been cut. The stolen bicycle is valued at $1,400.

Heineken LowA would-be thief paid a high price for trying to steal a case of beer. At 9:24 a.m. on Sept. 26, a male employee of the Felix Bar at 340 West Broadway saw a 24-year-old man removing 24-pack case of Heineken from in front of the bar. The employee and another 23-year-old man ran after him, stopping him at Sullivan and Broome Streets. The bad guy and the 23-year-old then had a fight. The thief managed to walk away with two beer bottles, heading northbound on Sixth Avenue toward Dominick Street. The 23-year-old intercepted the man a second time after notifying police, but the bad guy struck the 23-year-old several times with a beer bottle, cutting the victim’s forehead and left cheek. The police arrived and detained, arrested and charged Mario Groppi with robbery. He was later treated at the police precinct for abrasions to his elbow and right knee. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital.

Made Off with Madone

A California banker learned the hard way that a month is too long to keep a bike parked and unattended in New York City. At 8 a.m. on May 1, the 61-year-old man chained and locked his bike to the bike rack in the Citibank parking garage at 390 Greenwich St. When he returned about a month later, his bike was gone. There were no signs of forced entry at the facility. The stolen bike was a Trek Madone valued at $5,000.