19th Precinct
Punched for misstep
A woman was punched in the face after accidentally stepping on someone’s shoes, police said.
On July 13, at 12:50 p.m., a 23-year-old woman exited a Starbucks att 1261 Lexington Ave., at E. 85th St. On her way to the Lexington Ave. train station at 86th St., she stopped at a crosswalk, where she accidentally stepped on a man’s sneakers.
According to police, the man then punched the young woman on the left side of her face and ran to the train station.
Packages perp
The same man was arrested twice for stealing packages from Upper East Side buildings, police said.
On July 12, at 9:37 p.m., a man was seen inside a building on E. 94th St. placing packages that did not belong to him into his backpack. According to cops, the guy was not a resident of the building and was arrested once he exited the building with the packages.
A week later, on July 17, the same individual was seen again taking packages from a building, this time on E. 88th St. at 12:58 a.m. According to police, the man was arrested again when he exited the building.
Phone scam
An 85-year-old woman was swindled out of $1,600, according to cops.
On July 12, at 10 a.m., an elderly woman received a phone call from someone stating she was a public defender and told her that her grandson had been arrested.
According to police, the caller then told the woman that in order to bail out her grandson, she needed $1,600 in cash as soon as possible. The concerned grandma then went to the bank to withdraw the funds, which she then gave to the mystery caller in an envelope.
Later that day, the woman that had made the call picked up the money from the grandmother in the lobby of her Park Ave. building.
20th precinct
E-bike getaway
A man took off on e-bike after robbing an Athleta clothing store.
On July 2, around 5:20 p.m., a man entered the women’s athletic-wear store located at 216 Columbus Ave., at W. 70th St., and started placing items from the display table into a bag.
According to police, the thief then left the store with $2,768 worth of items and fled southbound on an e-bike parked outside.
Shady thief
Police said a man took off with $1,652 worth of designer sunglasses in a shoplifting haul on the Upper West Side.
On June 30, at about 12:40 p.m., the thief entered the Sunglass Hut at 2218 Broadway, at W. 79th St., and began taking sunglasses off the shelves and placing them into a bag.
He then exited the place, jumped into a cab and fled northbound on Broadway, according to police. He stole a $270 pair of Prada sunglasses, two pair of Tiffany sunglasses, one worth $360 and the other worth $240, a $300 pair of Prada sunglasses, and three pair of Ralph Lauren sunglasses worth $150, $130 and $90.
Credit cards stolen at theater
A woman told police she had her credit cards stolen while at the movies with her son.
On July 6, at noon, a woman went to the AMC Movie Theater at 1998 Broadway, at 68th St., to watch “Toy Story 4” with her son.
The 42-year-old mother sat down in movie theater No. 6 and placed her handbag on the seat next to her. According to police, she said there were no other moviegoers sitting in her row nor was anyone sitting in front of her. But there were people sitting in the row behind her.
When the movie ended, the woman noticed that her purse and wallet were both open. According to officers at the 20th Precinct, the woman’s Citi Mastercard and American Express card had all been taken.
Locker break-in
Someone broke into a locker at the Equinox gym at 344 Amsterdam Ave., at W. 76th St., police said.
On July 9, around 5:30 p.m., a 30-year-old man locked his belongings in locker No. 887 at the tony Upper West Side gym. According to police, the man returned to the locker at 6:18 p.m. to find that it had been opened. His American Express credit card and $100 were taken from the locker.
The victim told police that he canceled the card but noticed that it did have an unauthorized transaction for $77.97 at a Vitamin Shoppe.
24th precinct
Stolen tools
Police are still looking for a man wanted for burglary in the Manhattan Valley area.
On May 22, at about 11:15 p.m., a man entered 56 Duke Ellington Parkway (W. 106th St. near Columbus Ave.) through the basement and stole $4,600 worth of contractors’ tools. He then fled the building in a unknown direction.
Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
