19th Precinct
Duane Reade robbery A man was arrested after attempting to steal medication and threatening to stab a female employee of a local Duane Reade pharmacy last month. At 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 14, an employee of the 24-hour drug store at 1231 Madison Ave. noticed a man take boxes of Advil and Tylenol off of shelves, place them into a red handbag and walk towards the door, according to police. Law enforcement officers said that when the employee approached the shoplifter to confront him, the 54-year-old thief flashed a pair of scissors and said, “Come at me, I will give it to you.” When officers from the 19th Precinct arrived at the scene, cops said, they searched the thief and found a crack pipe in his fanny pack along with two bottles of Advil and one bottle of Tylenol. The total value of the medication stole was $55. Scammin’ with Mr. Cooper An elderly Upper West Side woman was scammed out of $2,350 earlier this summer. At 9:30 a.m. on July 21, the 76-year-old woman received a phone call from a man identifying himself as Mr. Cooper. According to police, Mr. Cooper promised the victim that he would pay her if she purchased some gift cards and told him the codes on the back. The woman complied, and purchased between five to 10 gift cards from a variety of stores worth a total of $2,350 and told Mr. Cooper the codes. The woman then reported the incident to police on Sept. 7 after realizing it was a scam. Bedroom break-in An Upper East Side woman woke up to a stranger looming over her bed last month. According to police, a 45-year-old woman woke up at 4:50 a.m. on Sept. 21, to the sound of her dog barking and screamed after seeing the roughly 34-year-old man standing next to her. Officers said as a result, the intruder then slid out of the East 90th Street house through the back door leading to the courtyard and was later found hiding underneath a lawn chair. Once at the house, officers discovered two separate bags containing a pair of Zappos boots underneath the building’s two staircases. The intruder stole two boxes of shoes belonging to the victim from the building’s basement and brought them up, according to officers. Almost robbed at the ATM A woman had her purse stolen while standing in line at a Upper East Side bank. Cops said the 45-year-old victim used an ATM at the Chase bank located at 1604 3rd Ave. at 9:25 p.m. on Sept. 20. After she finished, a younger woman who had been waiting behind her pushed the victim to the ground. The suspect tried to grab the victim’s purse but was unsuccessful and ran off, according to police. The victim was treated for a few small cuts to her hand and bruises on her thigh by EMS. Officers from the 19th Precinct canvassed the area to try to find the perp but could not locate her.
20th Precinct
Bike thief sprays to get away A bike store employee was pepper-sprayed in the face after he tried to stop a crook from stealing bike from the shop last month. At 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 13, a man inside the Toga Bike Shop at 110 West End Ave. picked up a Cervelo P2 bike worth $2,900 and attempted to walk out without paying. According to police, when a 45-year-old store employee tried to stop the thief from exiting the Upper West Side store, the perp turned around and sprayed him in the face with pepper stray. The attempted bicycle thief then ran, breaking the store’s glass door as he fled. Officers from the 20th Precinct arrested the wannabe thief at the corner of Riverside Boulevard and West 70th Street. Costly jewelry caper An Upper East Side woman had $4,900 worth of jewelry stolen from her 62nd St. home in August. At 1:10 p.m. on Aug. 3, the 49-year-old Upper East Sider hired a cleaning company to tidy her apartment and the next day noticed a 14k White gold Diamond bracelet and a 14k yellow gold diamond bracelet were missing. Officers said that the victim was unable to report the items missing to the police due to her work schedule. Bank thief presents note A bank was robbed in the Upper East Side after a thief passed a note to a teller demanding money. At 12:15 p.m. on Sept. 20, a 50-year-old man walked up to a female teller at the Citibank located at 1900 Broadway and passed her note stating, “Give me the money no bundles!! No games!!” The robber then repeated the demand verbally and said, “ I don’t play no games, give me the money,” as the 40-year-old teller passed him cash, police said. The perp then fled the bank with $3,000 in an unknown direction. Camera thief fights for his loot A man tried to steal from a Best Buy in the Upper West Side before physically fighting an employee. At 10:50 a.m. on Sept. 17, a man walked into the electronics store located at 1880 Broadway and ripped a Sony A7R III ILCERM3 camera worth $2,722 off a shelf and placed it in his pants, according to police. The camera thief then made his way towards the store’s exits but was confronted by a store employee once he exited. Police said that the thief pushed and shoved the 27-year-old male Best Buy worker while still holding the camera. According police sources, the thief then ” got into a tussle” with the employee before running from the location. — Compiled by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
