Crime Watch

BY MARIA ROCHA-BUSCHEL

pair arrested for bag scamPolice arrested a 29-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man on March 6 for grand larceny at the northwest corner of Eighth Avenue and West 14th Street. A woman told police that she lost her backpack on the subway and was later contacted by one of the suspects, who had found her bag on the train. The victim told police that the man had contacted her by email and requested $600 in exchange for the return of the bag. The victim met the suspects at the location, where police watched the exchange and then arrested the pair.

Man’s wallet stolen from checked coat A 26-year-old man reported that items were stolen from his jacket after he brought it to the coat check inside Dream Downtown at 355 West 16th Street March 3 at 9:30 p.m. He told police that he checked the jacket when he went inside and when he left at 4 a.m., multiple items from the jacket were gone. Police said that video surveillance shows a man and woman acting together, rummaging through the coat check room with flashlights. The man can be seen on video removing items from the jacket and putting them in his back pocket. The victim said that the value of the stolen property is negligible and included his wallet, birth certificate and Social Security card.

bags stolen from Gilded LilyA 34-year-old woman reported that her purse was stolen while she was at the Gilded Lily nightclub inside 408 West 15th St. Sunday sometime between 1 and 3:30 a.m. She told police that she put her purse under the table next to the DJ booth in the downstairs area of the club and realized that the bag was missing at 3:30 a.m. She said that she left her purse unattended multiple times throughout the night to use the bathroom and to avoid multiple bar fights. She reported that there were no unauthorized charged on her credit cards but her phone was turned off so it could not be tracked. She told police that the stolen purse was Gucci and was valued at $1,100.

Another woman reported that her bag was also stolen from the Gilded Lily on Saturday between midnight and 3:30 a.m. The 22-year-old told police that she was dancing at the club and placed the bag on a bench in front of her for “two minutes.” She continued dancing but when she went to retrieve the bag, she found that it was gone. The bag also contained her iPhone 6.

Phone stolen from Chelsea Rec CenterAn 18-year-old man reported that his phone and some cash were stolen from his locker inside the Chelsea Recreation Center at 430 West 25th St. Saturday afternoon. He told police that he put his Android phone and $14 in cash inside a locker and when he went to retrieve the items, they were gone. No cameras were available at the location. The victim said that he didn’t put a lock on the locker.

Car stolen from in front of Chelsea HousesA 77-year-old man reported that his phone was stolen from its spot in front of 415 West 25th St. between 12:25 and 10:40 p.m. on Friday. The victim told police that the car was parked and locked at the location, and that there were no outstanding parking summonses.

Phone stolen at restaurantA 32-year-old woman reported that her phone was stolen while she was working inside Royal Siam Thai Cuisine at 240 Eighth Avenue on Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. She told police that while she was working at the restaurant, she left her cell phone unattended on the counter and an unknown person removed it. There was only one customer at the counter when the phone was missing but no arrests have been made. She reported the incident last Thursday at 9:10 p.m. after she said that the phone was pinged on Hester Street using the Find My iPhone app.