Cat burglary suspect
Police arrested a suspect in a series of Village rooftop burglaries on March 1. Christopher Rodriguez, arrested in the Bronx, was charged with six counts of burglary from Nov. 23 to Jan. 25. Rodriquez gained access to most of the apartments by climbing down fire escapes from building roofs and entering via open or unlocked windows, according to reports. Three apartments in a single building on Thompson St. near Bleecker St. were hit while the occupants were away on Jan. 20, 24 and 25. The suspect is also charged with entering two apartments in a building on Sullivan St. near Prince St., one in December and the other in January.
Mugged in school
Police are seeking a man suspected of robbing a woman victim just after she entered the school building at 345 E. 15th St. around 6:38 a.m. Wed., March 2. The suspect followed the victim, 38, from an A.T.M. at the corner of E. 15th St. and First Ave., a short distance from the school. Once inside, he threw her to the floor, threatened to shoot her, and fled with her bag, police said. The suspect was described as a black man with a dark complexion, some facial hair, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 160 pounds, wearing a navy blue winter hat, a dark waist-length jacket and dark jeans. Anyone with information should phone Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or report it online at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text it to 274637 and enter TIP577.
Gunpoint robbery
Returning to his W. 19th St. apartment between Eighth and Ninth Aves. around 10 p.m. Mon., Feb. 28, from grocery shopping, a resident was stopped in the vestibule of the building by a man who displayed a gun and said, “Don’t make any noise. Give me your f—ing money,” police said. The victim gave up $20 and when the suspect demanded more, the victim offered his credit card, police said. The robber refused the card and fled on foot.
Falling steel beam
A man making deliveries at a film location on Mulberry St. near Prince St. around 1:30 p.m. Wed., March 2, had a narrow escape when a 20-foot-long steel beam fell from a construction site and went through his pickup truck’s roof. Mike Prisco, 29, was in the truck’s cab when the beam fell into the roof behind him, according to a New York Post item. Prisco was working for a Robert De Niro film that begins shooting later this month, the Post said.
Bring back Segways!
Mounted police on weekend patrol on Ludlow St. near Rivington St. to control the crowds of bar and club patrons are getting bad notices from neighbors and, incidentally, from revelers, who have to negotiate around steaming piles of horse manure. The Times Square Business Improvement District picks up in the Theater District where horse cops are on regular patrol, and the Mounted Unit brings a bucket on parade duty. But the problem is neglected on the Lower East Side horse patrol. A March 7 New York Post item on the problem got a sympathetic but noncommittal response from Mayor Bloomberg. However, Department of Sanitation Commissioner Vito Turso said that motorized litter patrols could be assigned to clean up the Lower East Side manure.
Wrestles peddler
A police officer, who began to arrest an unlicensed peddler in front of 42 Howard St. at Mercer St. at 8:10 p.m. Fri., March 4, was injured when the suspect struggled against being handcuffed. The peddler, Ceesay Mahamadou, 45, was charged with assaulting the police officer, who sustained a bruised right hand and a wrenched lower back.
W. Third St. roll
A police officer and the man he was apprehending for disorderly conduct on the northeast corner of Sixth Ave. and W. Third St. around 3:45 a.m. Sat., March 5, both rolled down the subway stairs during the struggle. The suspect, Derrick Palmer, 28, was finally subdued and charged with assaulting a police officer. Palmer’s female companion, Shadae Spence, 24, was also arrested. The officer sustained a swollen right wrist and a bruised lower back.
Avenue D robbery
Police from the Manhattan South Street Crime Unit arrested two brothers who held up a man and a woman at gunpoint on Avenue D near E. Sixth St. at 12:38 a.m. Sat., Feb. 26. Michael Talbot and his brother Quasem Talbot, both 17, were with an accomplice when they stopped the couple, police said. The accomplice hit the woman in the face with the gun, and the Talbots snatched an iPod from the man, police said. The brothers, both Brooklyn residents, were arrested near F.D.R. Drive at E. Fifth St. but the accomplice escaped. The woman victim required three stitches in her lips, police said.
Cell-phone snatch
Police arrested Michael Reid, 46, shortly after 4:41 a.m. Fri., March 4, and charged him with larceny for snatching a cell phone from an unwary tourist. The suspect stopped the victim at the corner of Cornelia and W. Fourth Sts., asked if he could see the victim’s cell phone, and snatched it when the victim took it out of his pocket, police said.
Game-store lift
Police arrested Benjamin Villaronga, 33, around 4 p.m. Wed., March 2, for stealing a $480 electronic game from the GameStop store, at 32 E. 14th St. The suspect entered the area behind a cash register, opened a drawer and took the game from it but was apprehended with the goods just outside the store, police said.
Makes the tackle
A police officer who saw a victim chasing a suspect who had just robbed him, joined the chase and tackled the suspect on Thompson and Spring Sts. around 4:40 p.m. Thurs., March 3. Vaughn Brown, 19, was charged with snatching a cell phone from the victim, who was talking on it while walking on Houston St. The victim tried to get his phone back but Brown turned and threatened to knife him, police said. Brown dropped his knife during his struggle with the arresting officer, police said.
Subway incidents
Two suspects approached a 16-year-old victim in the Canal St. station of the A train at 1 p.m. Sat., March 5, took $20 and his school ID and fled on a northbound train, police said.
A woman, 41, told police she was coming up the stairs of the subway station at Broadway and Prince St. at 10:45 a.m. Tues., Feb. 22, when she felt a push from behind. She didn’t turn around to see who pushed her but she discovered a short time later that her wallet had been lifted from her bag.
A 13-year-old-boy told police a gang of kids confronted him on a northbound C train at 3:10 p.m. Sat., Feb. 19, when one of them took off his belt and hit the victim with the buckle end and cut his face. The gang fled the train at Spring St. and Sixth Ave. and the injured boy was treated at New York Downtown Hospital.
Albert Amateau
