Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

Raccoon RuckusRaccoons have been called bandits many times but not for stealing wallets! At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4, a 20-year-old woman was walking on Columbus Avenue at 102nd Street when she saw a raccoon and ran away from it. She fled to her friend’s house at 104th Street and Amsterdam, when she realized that she had dropped her wallet in her flight. Regaining her courage, she went back to Columbus Avenue and checked the path of her escape between 102nd and 107th Streets but could not find her wallet. She checked her accounts later and discovered that her Chase Bank card had been charged $35 for a Metro Card. She then canceled all her cards. Other items lost in the wallet were a New York driver’s license, various debit cards, a Metro Card and a Panera bread card.

Mother ArrestedA mother was arrested on assault charges after repeatedly slapping her young son in full view of onlookers, police said. At 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, witnesses observed a woman, later identified as Fatoumata Zazi, striking her child several times near the subway entrance on 96th Street and Broadway. Four onlookers interceded to keep the woman from hitting the 6-year-old boy, who ran away from her to get help from a stranger. A witness flagged down auxiliary police, who filed a report over the radio. The boy complained of pain in his frontal lobe and both his arms, along with scratches to his wrist. Police arrived and arrested Zazi.

Decline Not FineAnother Upper West Side credit card holder found unauthorized charges on her account. At 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, a 21-year-old man tried to make a purchase using his mother’s credit card and was told that the card had been declined. Upon further investigation, he discovered several unauthorized charges on the account, although his mother still had the card in her possession. The total of the unauthorized charges amounted to $7,000. Police are looking into the matter.

Movado ViolationAt 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, a 23-year-old Queens woman parked her white 2015 Ford Focus in front of 41 West 86th St. When she returned to the car the following day at 9:45 a.m., she noticed that the right rear window had been smashed and items were missing from inside the vehicle. Police searched the area but could not locate the absent goods. The property stolen included a beige Gucci bag valued at $1,750 and a gold Movado watch priced at $1,500, making a total of $3,250 vanished in the night.

Pawn QueenAn ex-girlfriend stole more than one young man’s heart. At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, a 32-year-old man’s 38-year-old ex-girlfriend was a guest in his apartment on Amsterdam Avenue when she admitted stealing his watch and a pair of princess-cut diamond earrings from his apartment. The victim told police that he did not actually see his ex taking the items, but she had said to him, “that is why I took your stuff and pawned them.” The items stolen and pawned were an Aqua Master watch valued at $1,500 and a pair of gold diamond earrings priced at $1,000, making a total of $2,500.