Crime Watch

BY MARIA ROCHA-BUSCHEL

Purse snatched on West 16th StreetA 21-year-old woman reported that she was mugged while standing on the sidewalk in front of 305 West 16th St. in the wee hours of Sunday. The woman told police that a man and a woman approached her and her friend and snatched her purse while she was standing outside shortly after 3 a.m. A man she was with told police he chased the two culprits to West 14th Street and Seventh Avenue, where the female ran into the subway. The male suspect turned around to the man who was chasing him and attempted to grab his cell phone. When he was unsuccessful, the suspect fled south on Seventh Avenue.

Camera and phone stolen from churchA 45-year-old man reported that his property was stolen while he was inside the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Paul on West 22nd Street around noon Sunday. He told police that he left his Nikon digital camera D5300 and Samsung Galaxy smartphone on the second floor of the church. He then went downstairs for an hour and went back upstairs to get the camera and phone. They were missing when he returned.

Man assaulted while walking dog A 28-year-old man reported that he was assaulted at the northeast corner of West 21st Street and Eighth Avenue May 12 at 3:20 p.m. He told police that he was walking his dog when a man he didn’t know punched him in the face, cutting his lip. The culprit then fled.

Salon owner harassedThe owner of a business on West 23rd Street near Seventh Avenue told police that around noon on May 13 that she was being harassed by a male co-worker. She told police that the man, who rents a chair in her salon, has repeatedly called her, telling her that if she wants him out of her business, she needs to pay him $5,000 for him to leave. The victim said that she is scared for her life because the suspect reportedly told her that he would cut her with a blade.

Electronics stolen from locked carA 52-year-old man reported that his car was broken into while it was parked on the lot at 456 11th Ave. on the afternoon of May 14. He told police that he gave his key to the attendant at the lot when he parked and when he returned to the car, he noticed that his iPad, laptop and wifi hotspot were missing from the vehicle. The parking attendant reportedly told the victim that the car was locked and parked in the lot the whole time but the key was on top of the driver’s side front tire. The attendant said that the car was still locked when he went to retrieve the vehicle. No arrests have been made.