Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG

Artsy PartsyApparently it’s no longer safe to take your handbag off your arm. At 11 p.m. on Friday, March 31, a 40-year-old woman placed her handbag on the sidewalk between her legs while she ordered an Uber cab on her cell phone on Varick Street. In her account to police, she said the bag and its contents, valued at more than $7,000 was gone within a minute. The bag itself, a black Louis Vuitton Artsy, is valued at $3,000. She also lost a wallet, a silk cashmere scarf, a set of house and BMW car keys somehow worth $850, an MTA monthly MetroCard, and other items.

Prada PredatorsStore mannequins have been losing their handbags too! At 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, a 32-year-old male employee of the Prada store at 575 Broadway was reviewing store video surveillance when he saw footage of a man in his 30s taking handbags off a store mannequin and putting them in a 35-year-old male accomplice’s backpack. The two men then left the store without paying. The items stolen were a Prada City Calf handbag valued at $3,080, and a black City Calf handbag priced at $2,430.

Seizure ActivitySpeak about kicking a guy when he’s unconscious. At 12:45 p.m. on Monday, April 3, a 44-year-old man from Great Neck had a seizure inside a McDonald’s at 160 Broadway. While he was unconscious, an unknown perpetrator removed his wallet from his pocket and his phone and jacket from his table. The stolen items included an iPhone 6S, a Prada jacket, a commuter card, $250 in cash, and other items, including personal documents. The total taken came to $2,370.

Wire ScamAt 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, a 23-year-old male downtown resident transferred $1,800 to a bank account located in the United Kingdom after inquiring about a lease for an apartment there. He had been instructed by the advertiser to wire money to that account. After he transferred the money, the advertiser asked the victim to wire even more money, but without promising him the apartment. Needless to say, the advertisement turned out to be a scam, and the victim was out his $1,800.

Makeup TakeupThese days no Crime Watch column is complete without a Duane Reade shoplifting incident, and here it is. At 7:06 p.m. on Monday, April 3, a 35-year-old man stole merchandise from the chain’s store inside 250 Broadway. The items stolen were 67 makeup products totaling $1,648.39. Police caught up with the shoplifter, however, and Taylor Lynn was arrested later that day and charged with grand larceny.