Nabbed for murder
Two men were arrested on June 25 following a shooting at the Sheepshead/Nostrand Houses that left one dead and one injured.
Officials said two men were standing on Avenue X, between Haring and Batchelder streets, just after 10 am when two gunmen approached and opened fire.
Five bullets were discharged, hitting 25-year-old Darry Bennett in the neck and chest. A second man, also 25, was hit in the leg.
Witnesses said that the two shooters jumped into a 1999 Ford Explorer and sped off, only to crash the SUV into three parked cars on Brigham Street between Avenues W and V.
The duo jumped out of the SUV and ran into a nearby apartment building, where they were captured after a brief search.
Villainous visitor
An unhinged 25-year-old crept into a Bay Parkway apartment and held a young woman at gunpoint on June 25 following an odd case of mistaken identity.
Police said that the unwanted visitor showed up at 3:20 pm, entering through an open window. He then pulled a small revolver as he grabbed a woman inside by the throat.
After a brief struggle, the woman got away and began screaming for help.
A good samaritan heard her cries, raced into the apartment, and disarmed the attacker, keeping the 25 year old at bay until cops took him into custody.
But when cops slapped the handcuffs on the suspect, he told police that he was invited to the apartment after dialing up an ad for an escort service that he found in a local paper.
He told police he never came in through the window, but instead, through the front door, and that the woman concocted up her story after they couldn’t agree on a price.
Cops didn’t believe his story, however, and charged him with burglary in the first degree, criminal trespass and attempted assault.
MTA punch out
A 22-year-old straphanger was taken into custody on June 27 after he punched a bus driver on the first day the MTA cut Brooklyn’s bus services to the bone.
Officials allege that the young man got on the B6 bus on Bay Parkway at 4:50 am on the morning the cuts went into effect and quickly became outraged when he realized that the ride was taking a lot longer than expected.
He then attacked the bus driver, leaving the man with cuts and bruises that needed medical attention.
Cops took the 22 year old into custody a short time later, charging him with assault.
Senior killed
An 82-year-old woman was struck down and killed during a harrowing motor vehicle accident in Brighton Beach.
Police said Maya Arshanskaya was crossing the corner of Brighton Beach Avenue and Brighton 3rd Street just before 10:45 am on June 28 when she was struck by a 2008 Mercedes traveling west-bound along Brighton Beach Avenue.
The senior died of her injuries at Lutheran Medical Center.
No charges have been filed against the driver of the Mercedes, who remained at the scene.
Butterfly affect
Coney Island cops took a 17 year old into custody on June 26 after his bone-head actions nearly caused a gruesome carnage-filled scene.
Police allege that the teen was at the corner of Mermaid Avenue and West 31st Street at 2:35 am when he threw a glass bottle at the passenger window of a passing livery cab.
Surprised by the sudden impact, the driver veered off, almost colliding with a pedestrian.
The teen was charged with reckless endangerment, police said.
Lift looter busted
Cops have apprehended a 16-year-old in connection with two elevator robberies that took place in the same Coney Island building.
Police said that the teen and an unidentified accomplice attacked and ripped the purse from a woman riding the elevator with them inside the Surf Avenue building, which is at West 21st Street, back on June 2.
Then, three weeks later, on June 25, the suspect and his accomplice mugged a second woman on the same elevator.
The teen was arrested shortly after the robbery and confessed to both crimes, police said.
Headlock hooligans
Two teenage thieves were taken into custody on June 26 following a mugging at the corner of Avenue Y and East 27th Street.
Police were told that the 17-year-old victim was nearing the corner at 12:05 am as he made his way home from a friend’s house, only to be confronted by the two thugs.
The thieves put the victim in a headlock and ran off with his cash and cell phone, only to be arrested a short time later.
Restaurant raid
A brazen gunman held up a Coney Island Chinese/taco restaurant on June 17, running off with an undetermined amount of receipts.
Workers at the eatery, which is on Mermaid Avenue between West 28th and West 29th streets, said that the thief came in at 2:45 pm and pulled a gun, demanding they empty the register.
No injuries were reported.
Unsaintly behavior
A thief broke into the United Methodist Church of Sheepshead Bay on June 19, not realizing that a worker was inside.
The custodian told police he was mopping the floors in the Ocean Avenue house of worship, which is between Voorhies Avenue and Shore Parkway, just before midnight when he heard a crashing sound.
When he looked up, he saw a man in his 20s trying to get into the kitchen window.
The thief gave up his attempt as soon as he realized he was being watched and ran off, said police, who were still looking for the burglar as this paper went to press.
Wipe out graffiti
As the ongoing war against graffiti vandalism continues, cops are now offering a $500 reward to anyone with information that can lead them to graffiti vandals.
The hefty reward is part of the city’s new push to rid New York of graffiti, which is one of the leading quality of life complaints brought to police.
Officials said that cleaning up graffiti is essential to the plan, to show that the community is no longer going to tolerate marred and tagged-up walls and street corners.
According to police, there is a perception that if a community will tolerate graffiti, they will tolerate other criminal activities, such as drug dealing and prostitution.
Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism in their neighborhood is urged to contact either 311 or 911.