Dunkin invasion
Sixth Precinct detectives are investigating a Mon., May 16, incident when a swarm of about 20 teenagers invaded the Dunkin Donuts at 75 Christopher St. around 8 p.m. grabbed drinks and snack items from cases, trashed furniture, terrorized employees and customers for about 10 minutes and left without taking any money from patrons or from the cash register. Online reports quoted the manager of Boots & Saddle, a gay bar at 76 Christopher St., saying the bar was the target of a similar attack the previous week. Police said no one was injured in the Dunkin Donuts incident.
Taken for a ride
Two inspectors with the city Taxi and Limousine Commission took an involuntary ride from an unlicensed gypsy cab operator around 1 a.m. Sat., May 21. The inspectors were hailing a cab at the corner of W. Fourth St. and Seventh Ave. South when a private car stopped and the driver asked where they were going. They gave a West St. address, the driver said $10 and the two got into the back seat. But when they identified themselves and ordered him to stop, he said, “No,” and drove fast around traffic, police said. The driver, Joseph Etienne, finally stopped at West Broadway and Grand St., tossed the car keys to the inspectors and fled on foot but was soon arrested. He was charged with unlawful imprisonment, reckless endangerment and operating illegally as a livery car.
Champagne run
The manager of the recently opened Overbey & Dunn housewares store at 19 Christopher St. saw a man running from the store at 6:25 p.m. Fri., May 20, with two bottles of Champagne left over from the store’s grand opening in early April. The manager and an employee gave chase; the suspect ran across the hood of a car at a stoplight and the driver, an off-duty police officer, got out and joined the chase. They apprehended the suspect, Ryan Chaney, 19, at Waverly Place at W. 10th St. Police did not say whether the suspect was still in possession of the Champagne when he was arrested.
Hand in the TIL
Renee Hernandez, 54, was charged with grand larceny for stealing $97,000 from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Tenant Interim Lease program while she was president of the 244-246 Elizabeth St. Tenants Association. Hernandez illegally withdrew the money from the tenants association account between January 2006 and October 2007, the complaint says. The money, from tenants’ rent, should have been sent to H.P.D. as required by the department’s TIL program. Instead, Hernandez opened a credit card in her name directly linked to the association account and spent the money on personal shopping and a Florida vacation, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She was arraigned May 19 and held in lieu of $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash bail.
Porno paintings
The Orchard Windows Gallery, 37 Orchard St., received a slew of complaints last week from parents at nearby P.S. 42 on Hester St. about its new exhibit, “Porno Paintings,” explicitly sexual and clearly visible in the front window. Police visited the gallery Fri., May 20, and told the owner, Dino Eli, that neighbors were unhappy and advised him to put less-explicit images from the exhibit in the window.
Bad checks
Regina Norman, 56, was charged with issuing a $14,000 bad check to pay for a Jan. 27 operation at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, at 310 E. 14th St., according to the complaint filed with the Manhattan district attorney. Norman is also charged with larceny and issuing a forged check on March 8 to a business at 20 Vesey St., according to a spokesperson for District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.
In another incident, Orlando Correa, 21, was charged with trying to cash a forged check for $75.26 at the Chase branch at 785 Broadway at E. 10th St. at 2:50 p.m. Sat., May 21.
Riis Houses robber
Police are seeking the public’s help in apprehending a man wanted for robbing a homecare attendant in the elevator of the Jacob Riis Houses at 819 F.D.R. Drive on Sun., May 15. The victim, 60, who aids a resident on the building’s 13th floor, got on the elevator at about 2:40 p.m. followed by the suspect, described as a Hispanic man between 30 and 35 years old, with a light complexion, short black hair and facial hair.
The victim and the suspect both got off at the 13th floor, where the suspect grabbed the woman’s shoulder bag, injuring her face and neck, and fled. The suspect was wearing a navy-blue, hooded sweater with long sleeves and “New York” in white letters on the front. He wore a black T-shirt underneath and blue jeans. Tips should be phoned to 800-577-TIPS (8477) or reported online at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or texted to 274637 (crimes); enter TIPS577.
Commercial robberies
Police are asking for help in finding a man wanted in a series of nine commercial robberies or attempted robberies in the Village, Gramercy and Midtown and on the Upper West Side.
The suspect is described as a white man between 35 and 45 years old, between 5 feet 7 inches and 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, wearing a gray sports jacket, blue jeans, black baseball cap and dark sunglasses. He enters a location while covering his face with one hand and the other beneath his shirt indicating he has a gun. He demands money from the attendant at the counter and then flees on foot.
He made a try at a Duane Reade at 77 Seventh Ave. at 14th St. on Sat., May 21, shortly before 8 p.m.
The suspect made attempts at a Duane Reade at 873 Broadway at 18th St. at 9:20 p.m. April 28; at a Cosi cafe at 841 Broadway at 13th St. at 7:50 p.m. April 30; and at a Starbucks at 450 Seventh Ave. near 35th St. at 8:38 p.m. May 6.
He got away with cash from a CVS at 320 Fifth Ave at 32nd St. on Sun., May 8.
Anyone with information should phone 800-577-TIPS (8477) or report it online at www.CrimeStoppers.com or text to 274637 and enter TIPS577.
Peeking and pinching
Police arrested Jimmy Gonzalez, 34, around 6:30 p.m. Thurs., May 19, in front of 40 E.14th St. at University Place for using his cell phone to look under the dresses of women passersby. Two victims, 22 and 33 years old, called police.
Rafaele Bayron, 69, was arrested around 4:50 p.m. Wed., May 21, on an M16 bus on Second Ave. at 21st St. and was charged with squeezing the buttocks of a woman passenger sitting next to him. He was charged with persistent sexual abuse because of previous similar convictions.
Custom cycle gone
A man chained his custom bicycle, valued at $3,570, to a pole on the southwest corner of Houston St. and Broadway at 7:30 p.m. Wed., May 11, and returned at 9:30 p.m. to discover that the chain and the cycle were gone, police said.
Albert Amateau
