Augustus St. Gaudens Playground (Photo by Alan Krevis)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested a teenager for thefts in two different parks this week.

The teen was busted after a theft in Evelyn’s Playground at Union Square East and East 16th Street at 10:16 a.m. last Thursday. Police said that officers were patrolling this area because there was recently a pattern of thefts in neighborhood playgrounds.

The teen approached three separate strollers with purses attached in the Union Square playground and attempted to swipe the bags. When he was questioned by police, they said the teen admitted, “I took money.”

The suspect, whose name is being withheld due to his age, was later charged in connection with another theft at the Augustus St. Gaudens playground at Second Avenue and East 19th Street. Police said that he was inside a children’s park close to numerous baby strollers with purses attached to them.

The victim told police that she saw the suspect near her stroller and after several minutes, she went back to check her bag and noticed that her wallet was missing and the teen was walking away. She then saw him fleeing south from the park.

The victim identified the suspect at the 13th Precinct when the teen was arrested for the incident in Union Square. Police also obtained video footage of him walking east on East 19th Street away from Augustus St. Gaudens while in possession of the victim’s wallet.

Police said that the same individual was charged in connection with a third similar incident but no further information about the incident was available.