BREAK-IN, BURGLARY IN THE WEST 80’S
A young man’s apartment was robbed on Sunday, Dec. 30. The 24-year-old left his West 81st Street home at 6 p.m., and when he returned at around 11 p.m. he found his door open and his lights on. A Mac laptop, $4,000 camera, TV, a DVD player and $250 in cash were stolen. The victim remembers locking his door when he left. The robber(s) have yet to be identified and remain at large.

DISTRACTED BY ICE CREAM
A woman had her wallet stolen while grabbing a bite two weeks ago. At 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 27, the 44-year-old New Jersey resident stopped by an ice cream shop on Broadway, and hung her purse from the arm of her chair as she sat down to eat. When she went to pay, she dug into the purse for her wallet and found it was missing. She canceled her three credit cards, but not before unauthorized charges were made.

UPSCALE CLOTHING THEFT
A thief robbed an upscale clothing store on Columbus Avenue by sneaking items into a bag. The man entered the store around 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22, to browse, and the store’s workers failed to see him grab two jackets and three scarves from the store’s shelves and hide them. He then sauntered out of the store and escaped in an unknown direction. The items stolen were worth $2,373. Video surveillance may provide clues to the criminal’s identity, but as of now he is unidentified and wanted for grand larceny.

UPSCALE CLOTHING THEFT 2
On Dec. 29, another clothing store was robbed in a similar fashion. An unidentified thief entered the store on Broadway at 6 p.m. carrying a garbage bag, and managed to fill the bag with clothing and merchandise without being detected. According to the police report, items stolen included 70 women’s sweaters worth $4,800. The man fled the store, and the store’s workers called police 30 minutes later, but the thief remains at large and wanted for grand larceny.

MISSING RINGS
Three rings were stolen from a West 76th Street resident in November. The 31-year-old woman returned to her home from a trip at the end of the month and placed the three rings, all gold with ruby and diamond ornamentations, in a tote bag on her bedroom dresser. When she went to put on the rings for work on the morning of Nov. 28, however, they were gone. There were no signs of forced entry to the apartment, but the woman had allowed housekeeping and other workers into her apartment in the time between her return home and the rings’ disappearance. The three rings were worth $1,900. The thief is wanted for grand larceny.

WALLET STOLEN FROM A DOCTOR’S WAITING ROOM
A man in the waiting area of a doctor’s office lost his wallet when he left to answer a phone call. The victim, age unreported, was filling out medical forms in a medical building on West 59th Street at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 28, when his phone rang. He left his wallet on the table and ran out of the room to take the call. When he returned just 30 to 45 seconds later, the wallet was gone. He lost credit cards and $140 cash. Police are working on identifying the thief, who is wanted for grand larceny.

Handing It Over

Apparently, in an urban metropolis, even the public bathroom isn’t safe from enterprising robbers, or so a recent incident reported by the NYPD would indicate. A 57-year-old woman was at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in the early afternoon when she made her way to the restrooms. After selecting a stall, she placed her bag on a hook on the stall door, but no sooner had she closed that door than a man ran up, swooped his arm over the door and snatched her purse. Fortunately, the woman had only about $100 in cash and a few credit cards in her bag.

The Jewels on the Desk

According to police, a thief recently nabbed $4,200 in jewelry from a specialty store on Spring Street in Soho. Police say that while the owner’s attention was elsewhere, an unidentified thief lifted a $3,000 platinum and diamond ring and a $1,200 14-karat white gold mounting from the owner’s desk.

Don’t Trust a Friend With Your Wallet

A 23-year-old woman was whiling away the hours dancing at a bar on South Street recently when her wallet was stolen out of her friend’s purse. The friend told police she had left her bag on a chair while the pair jived and grooved. The woman canceled her cards after noticing a suspicious purchase at an MTA ticket machine.

Never Leave Your Bags Unattended

In a surprising move, a 69-year-old man told police that while at a beauty store in Soho one recent evening, he left his briefcase at the front of the shop and went on a 10-minute tour of the premises. When he returned, his bag was nowhere to be seen, and whoever might have taken it made off with a lot of loot. The briefcase reportedly contained a $2,000 Lenovo laptop, a $200 camera, $100 worth of drafting pens and pencils and a $150 tape measure.

Citizens’ Arrest

Police were called to the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets recently at almost 10 p.m. after receiving complaints from local residents that a man was excessively shouting. Police say that after the 21-year-old man refused to quiet down, they attempted to arrest him but he flailed his arms and legs. An officer was reportedly injured in the process.

Hold On to That iPhone

iPhone thefts—at least according to the complaints we look at—seem to mainly occur in the subway systems, where thieves not only have close access to the devices but usually a means of a quick getaway by stepping off the train at a stop. But in a recent NYPD case, a 24-year-old woman’s phone was taken from her while she was on the street. She told police that she was at the intersection of Spring and Wooster streets and had been intercepted a few times by a 25-year-old guy. When she attempted to cross the street, he ran by, snatched her iPhone and ran away. The woman told police that she attempted to use the Find My iPhone application but to no avail, as the phone was turned off.

Stolen Bike

A 40-year-old man was given a rude awakening recently when he wrapped up his workday. According to police, the man pulled up to the corner of Greenwich and Spring streets at 9:30 a.m. and parked his Yamaha R6 motorcycle. When he returned to the spot after work, he discovered that his bike, worth roughly $7,000, was stolen.

While shopping at a chain supermarket on Greenwich Street, a man from Washington State put his black Gucci money clip down as he was shopping. When he realized he no longer had the money clip at the checkout, he went to look for it, but it unfortunately didn’t turn up. Among the lost items were credit cards and Harley Davidson and Costco gift cards totaling $500.

Out to Lunch

When a 38-year-old woman was eating lunch at a taquería on Canal Street, she didn’t expect to get a phone call a few days later from her credit card company asking for payment on about $1,600 in charges from that day. The woman believes a nimble-fingered thief reached into the purse draped behind her chair as she ate, grabbed her credit cards and $250 in cash and ran. The woman had no clue she had been robbed until she got the phone call.

Dance the Night Away

Drinking and dancing sounded like lots of fun to a 21-year-old woman until, as she danced the night away at a bar on Pearl Street, a man stole her Louis Vuitton purse and wallet worth $1,500. Also stolen were her Apple iPhone 4S, credit cards and $200 worth of MAC makeup. The thief was recognized as a regular of the establishment and is believe to work in a kitchen in Hanover Square.

Off to Work

When a 29-year-old woman went to clock in at the restaurant she works at on Church Street, she unfortunately forgot her purse on one of the bar stools. After catching up with her co-workers, she realized that the bag had vanished without a trace. Inside were her apartment keys, debit card and $200 cash.

Teatime

On March 22, a 46-year-old man sat down in his favorite coffee shop on the corner of Dey and Church streets to drink some tea and do some work on his computer. When he reached down to collect his bag next to his leg, he realized that someone had stolen it, along with his cell phone, credit cards, a $100 digital camera, headphones and an Apple iPod, which were all inside.

Card Tricks

A tourist out with her friends from Kentucky, was pickpocketed on Canal Street as she watched a game of three-card monte. The thief, who stole $500 in cash from the 46-year-old woman, was caught red-handed but averted arrest. Before he ran off, the pocket picker shouted, “Go ahead and call the law!” He has yet to be caught.

Stolen Bike

On the evening of March 19, a 21-year-old Queens man parked his red Honda motorcycle on the corner of North End Avenue and Murray Street. When he returned to the corner, his bike, which was unlocked and uncovered, was no where to be seen. Police searched the area for the missing bike, estimated to be worth $10,000, but to no avail.

Soft Money

illustration by evan soares

Feb. 22, a man was arrested for credit card fraud in a drug store on Wall Street. The man tried to buy $1,040 worth of American Express gift cards and, perhaps in an effort to properly launder the money, a $7 bottle of fabric softener.