The Bronx
A suspect posed as a cop and cleaned out a man’s pockets in the South Bronx, sources said Wednesday. The 28-year-old victim was in California Deli Grocery on East 138th Street near Brown Place at about 8:40 p.m. on Dec. 21 when the crook announced that he was an officer, authorities said. He dug through the man’s pockets and grabbed a wallet, $20 in cash, and a cellphone, cops said. The robber is believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, about 180 pounds, and 6 feet tall. He was wearing a red wool hat, a black jacket and jeans.
A joyriding underage driver who swiped a van in Schuylerville was slapped with a slew of charges, police said Wednesday. The boy, 14, was driving the stolen van along Crosby and Waterbury avenues just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when he lost control and hit five parked cars, according to police. When cops arrived, the teen drove at a “high rate of speed toward” their marked car before the cruiser swerved out of the way, officials said. The kid crashed the van on Zulette Avenue and was busted on charges of reckless driving, menacing, criminal trespassing, grand larceny, resisting arrest, leaving the scene of an accident, disorderly conduct and driving without a license.
Brooklyn
A gang of thugs knocked out several teeth of a woman coming to the aid of a relative being assaulted in Bushwick, police sources said Wednesday. The victim, 25, was in her apartment building on Covert Street near Irving Avenue at 1:55 a.m. Sunday when she peered through a window and saw her uncle arguing with a group of men outside, the sources said. She rushed to intervene but the gang assaulted her and then fled in two vehicles. The victim’s uncle was also battered, the sources said.
A man used Craigslist to solicit the services of a masseuse, then met up and raped her in East New York, police said Wednesday. The sexual predator and the victim met up at the Linden Motor Inn on South Conduit Boulevard near Sutter Avenue at about 3:50 p.m. on Oct. 26 after the man hired her for a half-hour massage, cops said. Once the man got his rubdown, he told the 25-year-old woman he was a police officer and flashed a blue FDA employee badge, police said. The phony cop then forced her to have sex with him, according to police. The creep robbed the woman of her cellphone and cash before hopping into a black Mercedes Benz C-Class auto and fleeing, cops said. He was wearing light blue ripped jeans, a blue T-shirt with yellow print, and sneakers.
Manhattan
A knife-wielding robber stole $1,172 worth of valuables from a woman in Chelsea, sources said Wednesday. The 30-year-old victim was walking along West 19th Street after leaving a bank and heading to her boyfriend’s house at about 8:15 p.m. Saturday when a man came up behind her and whispered, “Don’t say anything. Give me your bag.” The brave Brooklyn woman immediately began screaming for help, but the thief pulled a knife on her, ripped her backpack off her shoulders and knocked her to the ground, the sources said. She chased after the 6-foot-2 thug, but lost him in the vicinity of nearby basketball courts, the sources added. The victim recovered the bag but lost her wallet, MetroCard, cash, cashmere hat, earbuds and other items.
A man who fled the scene of an accident in Hell’s Kitchen was arrested after later abandoning his new car near the Lincoln Tunnel and wandering away on foot, sources said Wednesday. Andrew Douglas, 26, of Brooklyn smashed his 2015 Kia into another car at Ninth Avenue and West 41st Street, and took off south on Ninth Avenue at around 4:45 a.m. Sunday, the sources added. He dumped his banged-up ride on West 35th Street near Dyer Avenue and ran toward the Hudson River, the sources said. Cops caught up with him and noticed that he smelled of booze and had bloodshot eyes, officials said. Douglas was charged with DWI and leaving the scene of an accident. A 69-year-old man and a 47-year-old man in the other vehicle did not report any serious injuries, authorities said.