Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG
Home AloneLiving in New York comes with challenges, but so does leaving it. At noon on May 24, a resident of the De Hostos Apartments at 201 West 93rd St. left home for eight days. When he returned, his apartment door lock and belongings worth more than $6,000 were missing, police said. The items stolen included a diamond ring, a Rolex watch, a 40-inch Samsung TV, a 30-inch Samsung TV, a 15.6-inch Hewlett-Packard laptop, a 15.6-inch Lenovo laptop, an iPad Air, and a window air conditioner. The total value stolen came to $6,600.
Wack HackOn June 2, a 59-year-old woman living on West 95th Street reported to police that an unknown person had attempted to make unauthorized transactions on her credit card account. Four transactions were attempted, one at an Apple Store and three at Bloomingdale’s, but fortunately her card issuer Citibank refused to authorize the charges, totaling $15,035. The victim told police that her e-mail account had been hacked during that time, and she had been in the process of changing cell phone service, which may have allowed the thieves to access her personal information.
Telephone TroubleA man was arrested following a domestic dispute. According to a police account, at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, a 32-year-old man began a verbal dispute with his 47-year-old girlfriend, who was living at 102 West 109th St., because she was on the phone with her daughter. He then pulled her hair and punched her in the back of her head. She grabbed his testicles in self-defense, hoping he would let go of her hair. He did let go but continued to argue and threatened to call child services on her. He then destroyed her cell phone and computer and picked up a dolly, which he threw at her, hitting her on the right arm, causing pain and injury. He was arrested later that day and charged with assault. Police did not release the man’s name.
Didn’t SprintOn May 1, a 29-year-old man living on Amsterdam Avenue was checking his credit report when he saw a Sprint account listed. He told police that he had never opened a Sprint account. He contacted the cellphone company and found that someone had opened up the account under his name online unlawfully. He said that during the time the account had been opened, he did not live at the Spring Street address listed. The total amount of the unauthorized charges came to $7,414.74.
Order OrdealAt 10:23 p.m. on June 2, a 24-year-old deliveryman had stopped for a red light at the corner of 103rd Street and Columbus Avenue when nine men approached him. One said, “Give me the food, or I will kill you” and displayed a knife, while two of the others forcibly removed three bags of food from the delivery bicycle’s front basket. Three of the bad guys were last seen running southbound on Columbus, and a search of the neighborhood failed to turn up any of the others. The value of the food taken came to $99.44.