Crime Watch

Cab Nab A man was splitting a taxi with a 26-year-old woman when she managed to reach into his pocket and pull out his $400 iPhone and European credit card. The man noticed his items missing and politely asked for his things back. The woman refused, so the man made the cabbie drive to the nearest precinct to report the theft. According to the taxi driver, as the car pulled near the police station, the woman removed the stolen goods from her bra and placed them on the floor of the cab to make it seem as if the items had slipped from his pockets. The daring woman was arrested soon afterward. Downtown Bag Snatchers This next crime reminds us to always keep our bags in sight at all times. A 27-year-old man from Maryland put his knapsack down on a bench at a park on West Street and North Moore Streets to skateboard. Although he was close by the entire time, an enterprising thief ended up stealing the bag, which contained $200 in cash, $60 worth of clothes, a $25 skate tool, his cell phone worth $150, iPod worth $120 and a bus ticket back to Maryland. In a similar case on the same day, a 24-year-old woman left her pocketbook on a bench in a park area on South Street. The bag was right next to her when a 20-year-old man snatched it and ran. Luckily, he was apprehended and arrested. The bag, containing $57 in cash, a $300 iPod, an iPhone worth $400 and $110 Ray Ban sunglasses, was successfully recovered. Vanishing Vespa If you've left anything of value in a certain place for a year without it getting stolen, you'd probably trust the location. For one woman, unfortunately, this was not the case. The 37-year-old woman, who has been parking her 2004 green Vespa worth $3,000 in the same parking garage on South End Avenue for the past year, discovered it missing at midnight last week. Parking attendants and the woman are befuddled as to how it could have happened. Unnoticed Jewelry Heist The 42-year-old owner of a jewelry store on South Street was doing his nightly routine of checking surveillance tapes when he noticed criminal activity had been recorded that same morning. The tape shows two men removing many items of jewelry from the store, worth a total of $1,975. They include six bracelets worth $210 in total, six rings worth $150 and 18 pairs of earrings worth $590. Also part of the loot was a $50 lampshade, $90 statue, 12 jewelry gift sets worth $605, two turquoise rings totaling $70 and seven stone rings worth $210. Police are still investigating the theft. Adolescent Quartet Attempt to Rob a Store Four adolescent women acted in concert at a retail store on Broadway when they tried to take clothing items totaling $195. The two 20-year-olds managed to get away, but the 17-year-old holding the items in a foil-lined bag, which renders the security tags ineffective, was caught by a security guard. A 16-year-old was caught. Both teenagers fought off the guards, biting, kicking and scratching them. One of the teenagers got away, but was later caught and positively IDed by the guard in a lineup. Yet Another iTheft Thieves continue to target those with Apple devices. A 22-year-old woman was recently walking home on Water Street at around 2 a.m. when she put earbuds in to listen to music on her iPhone. A few seconds later, a burly man snatched it from her hands and tried to flee. The brave woman struggled to get it back, but in the process broke the ring on her finger and sustained minor scratches to her arms and finger. The thief got away with the iPhone. Compiled by Adel Manoukian