Category Archives: Crime

One arrested as e-bike thefts increase

One of the suspects in multiple recent e-bike thefts

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police have arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with the theft of an e-bike from a restaurant on East 14th Street over the weekend.

The arrest comes after the New York Times reported last Friday that at least 24 e-bikes have been reported stolen throughout the city since last September. The NYPD told the Times that nearly two dozen delivery workers have been attacked and their e-bikes have been stolen by the same two men, who police said ambushed the riders with pepper spray or at knife point. The bikes stolen from the workers can cost as much as $2,000.

Although not an e-bike, Peter Cooper Village resident Adriana Hammonds also reported the theft of her new cargo bike just after Christmas. The family had taken out a loan to pay for the $3,000 bike and it was stolen the first day they took it out for a ride. The bike was meant for Hammonds to use to bring her 6-year-old son Sebastian to school and after assembling it right after the holiday, she and her son took it to visit a friend and locked the bike on East 18th Street and Irving Place. When they returned two hours later, the bike had been stolen.

The Bronx resident who was arrested for the recent e-bike theft was caught at the corner of Second Avenue and East 15th Street on Sunday, January 5 at 7:53 p.m. after a witness chased him from the restaurant where he took the bike.

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Girls wanted for East Village, Gramercy robberies

Robbery suspects

The New York City Police Department is asking the public’s assistance identifying two women wanted for questioning in connection to robberies that occurred in the East Village and Gramercy in August.

Police said that on Friday, August 16 around 9 p.m., a 24-year-old female victim was walking in front of 138 East 30th Street, when two girls approached her from behind, removing her cellphone from her hand and punching her face causing swelling and bruising on left eye. The victim started screaming and the suspects then fled on foot westbound on East 30th Street. The victim refused medical attention at the scene.

Around 10:15 p.m. on the same night, a 28-year-old woman told police that she was walking near Third Avenue and East 16th Street when two girls approached her from behind and pushed her on the ground and grabbed her cellphone from her hand. The suspects then fled on foot eastbound on East 16th Street towards Second Avenue. The victim refused medical attention at the scene.

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Man busted for package thefts

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested a man last Thursday for multiple package thefts that took place in Peter Cooper Village earlier this month. 

Wayne Wood, 53, allegedly committed two burglaries on East 23rd Street last Thursday afternoon. 

Police said that Wood entered 420 East 23rd Street on Thursday, October 10 at 2:30 p.m. and removed a package from the building that had been delivered and left outside the victim’s apartment door. Wood was allegedly in the building without permission.

Wood then allegedly went over to 510 East 23rd Street around 3 p.m. and reportedly took another package. Police said that he entered the building without permission and removed a package that had been delivered and left outside the victim’s apartment door. 

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Woman arrested for stealing Stuy Town resident’s phone

By Maria Rocha-Buschel 

Police arrested 33-year-old Anne Delacruz for allegedly stealing a man’s phone in Stuyvesant Town at the end of September. 

Police said that Delacruz was involved in a fight in front of 605 East 14th Street on September 22 at 11:32 p.m. when a Stuyvesant Town resident in his 30s attempted to break up the fight and separate Delacruz and the person that she was fighting with. The victim said that in the process of trying to break the fight up, he was assaulted and Delacruz allegedly stole his cell phone. 

The victim told police that Delacruz punched him in the face, neck and back, causing bruising, redness, scratches and substantial pain, then she allegedly grabbed his phone from his hand. 

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Man arrested for stealing more than $11k during bank robberies

Bank robbery suspect

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police have arrested 48-year-old Joseph Rivera last Thursday for bank robberies in Gramercy and throughout Manhattan, allegedly taking a total of approximately $11,000 in 12 different bank robberies.

In each incident, Rivera reportedly entered a bank and passed a demand note while demanding cash from the teller.

One of the robberies that took place in Flatiron occurred on Tuesday, September 10 around noon when police said that Rivera entered the Chase Bank at 71 West 23rd Street and allegedly passed a demand note while making a demand for cash. The teller reportedly complied, and Rivera allegedly for away with $3,700.

Police said that Rivera passed a note to a teller inside the Amalgamated Bank at 301 Third Avenue near East 23rd Street on Thursday, September 19 at 1 p.m. and got away with $89. He also allegedly robbed the HSBC Bank at 800 Sixth Avenue and West 28th Street, passing a note to a teller to demand cash, but police said that he fled before the teller complied.

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Man arrested for robbery at Asser Levy Park

A second suspect, seen here in a nearby 7-Eleven following the robbery, has not yet been arrested.

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police have arrested a homeless man for a robbery that took place inside Asser Levy Park during the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning.

The 47-year-old victim told police that he was walking near the park on East 23rd Street and Avenue C around 4:15 a.m. on September 30 when 24-year-old Rahkeem Williams allegedly grabbed him and pulled him behind the park.

The victim said that Williams was working with another person, who has not been arrested yet, and Williams allegedly menaced the victim with a knife before taking his wallet and his phone.

Police said that Williams and the other suspect also searched the victim further and kept him at the location against his will, then both fled the scene in an unknown direction. The victim suffered injuries to his face after Williams allegedly punched, kicked and pushed him.

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Man busted for Kips Bay robbery outside Peter Cooper Village

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Stuyvesant Town Public Safety helped catch a man wanted for a robbery on Sunday night after the suspect attempted to hide inside a building in Peter Cooper Village, police confirmed this week.

The victim told police that he was standing at the corner of Second Avenue and East 25th Street on Sunday, September 29 around 9:30 p.m. with his bag on the ground near his feet when 23-year-old Mitchell William allegedly reached down and grabbed the bag.

When the victim told William to drop the bag and tried to get it back from him, William allegedly punched him in the face, causing the victim to bleed from his mouth.

Police said that William then fled east and the victim followed him. When the victim confronted William again, police said that the suspect punched him a second time and pushed him to the ground, causing a scrape on the victim’s elbow.

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Teen arrested for Stuy Town robbery charged with previous murder

Suspect David Young

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police have arrested 17-year-old David Young in connection with the robbery of a Stuyvesant Town senior on September 16 around 7:40 p.m. in front of her apartment at 430 East 20th Street and have also charged him with a homicide that occurred in the Lower East Side this summer.

Young was charged with robbery inside the 13th precinct on Tuesday, September 24 at 3:30 p.m. and following his arrest, was charged in connection with the homicide, which police said occurred at the Lillian Wald Houses at 20 Avenue D on July 13.

The robbery in Stuyvesant Town occurred in front of 430 East 20th Street on the M level adjacent to Playground 1. Police said that Young and a teenage girl were outside the building when the victim was walking towards the door attempting to get inside. Young reportedly told her that his phone was dead and wanted the victim to help them get inside, and when she said that they needed to call security, one of the teens allegedly said that she wouldn’t help them because they were black.

The victim then turned to walk away from the building and the teens allegedly grabbed her from behind, knocking her to the ground before grabbing her purse and fleeing the scene. The teenage girl, a resident of Good Shepherd Services on East 17th Street, was arrested the following day. Young was caught last Tuesday.

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Teens arrested for bag, phone snatching in Stuyvesant Town

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested two teenagers for a bag theft that occurred outside one of the playgrounds in Stuyvesant Town last week.

According to the NYPD and Stuy Town management, the victim was sitting on a park bench outside Playground 1 behind 330 First Avenue around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 18 when the one of the teens came up to the victim and grabbed her bag, which contained credit cards, and the other teen snatched her phone before running from the location.

Police said that both suspects entered the subway at First Avenue and East 14th Street, where one of the teens was arrested at 11:29 a.m., but the other suspect fled from the station and ran south on First Avenue. He was later arrested inside the 13th precinct on Thursday, September 19 at 6:12 p.m.

The bag containing the victim’s wallet was recovered when the first teen was arrested. It was not clear if the teen who allegedly grabbed the victim’s phone had it on him when he was arrested, and the device was turned off and unable to be tracked.

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Man wanted for Flatiron bank robbery

Bank robbery suspect

The New York City Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a man wanted for questioning in connection to a bank robbery in the Flatiron District.

Police reported that on Wednesday, September 25 around 2:53 p.m., an unidentified man approached a teller and passed a note demanding money inside the Wells Fargo at 777 Sixth Avenue near West 28th Street.

The man reportedly simulated a weapon but did not display one at the time of the incident. The teller complied and the suspect fled the location with $150. There were no injuries reported as a result of this incident.

The person wanted for questioning is described as a black man with a dark complexion and in his fifties.

Anyone with information in regard to the identity of this male is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.

Man wanted for forcible touching on 4 train

Forcible touching suspect

By Maria Rocha-Buschel 

Police are looking for a man wanted for a forcible touching incident that occurred on the subway in Union Square earlier this month. 

The 37-year-old victim told police that she was riding a crowded uptown 4 train on Monday, September 9 around 8:35 a.m. and when the train was near Union Square, an unknown man who was standing behind her allegedly exposed his private parts and rubbed up against the victim’s buttocks. 

When the victim called attention to his behavior and protested to what he was doing, he got off the train at an unknown station and fled on foot. The victim was not injured. 

The suspect is described as a black man between 20 and 30 years old, clean-shaven, and was last seen wearing a patterned long sleeve shirt and glasses. 

Anyone with information about the identity of this man is asked to call the NYPD’s CrimeStoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.

UPDATE: Teen arrested for robbery in Stuyvesant Town

Suspect David Young

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

A 17-year-old girl was arrested for assaulting a senior while she was trying to get into her building in Stuyvesant Town on Monday evening. 

Police said that the victim, who is older than 65, was walking up to the building at 430 East 20th Street around 7:40 p.m. on September 16 when she spotted the teens, a boy and a girl, standing outside the door. As she approached the building, she said that one of the teens told her that his phone was dead and wanted her to let them inside the building. 

The victim said that she told them they needed to call security if they wanted help getting inside and one of the teens allegedly responded, “You’re not opening the door because we’re black.”

The victim said that she then turned around to walk away from the building when the teens grabbed her from behind and knocked her to the ground before grabbing her purse and fleeing the scene by heading west. 

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Men wanted for East Village jewelry store theft

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying two men wanted for a grand larceny that occurred in the East Village.

It was reported to the police that on August 23 at 8 p.m., two individuals entered the Still House, located at 309 East 9th Street, where they were trying on jewelry at the counter.  The individuals removed two rings, valued at approximately $2,980, when the store employee was distracted.  The individuals also used a counterfeit $100 bill to purchase two $25 gift cards before leaving the store.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.

Teens wanted for robbery in Stuyvesant Town

430 East 20th Street (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police are looking for two teenagers who reportedly robbed a woman while she was trying to get into her building in Stuyvesant Town yesterday evening. 

The victim told police that she was walking up to the building at 430 East 20th Street around 7:40 p.m. on Monday, September 16 when she spotted the teens, a boy and a girl, standing outside the door. As she approached the building, she said that one of the teens told her that his phone was dead and wanted her to let them inside the building. 

The victim said that she told them they needed to call security if they wanted help getting inside and one of the teens allegedly responded, “You’re not opening the door because we’re black.”

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Three wanted for assaulting elderly man

Suspect 1

The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying three individuals who are wanted for questioning in connection to an assault that occurred in the East Village.

Police said that the three individuals approached the 84-year-old male victim from behind near East 6th Street and Avenue D on Wednesday, September 4 around 6:30 a.m. The male suspect punched the victim in the right side of the face and the three then fled.

Suspect 2

Police said that the first suspect is a black boy, approximately 15-18 years old and was last seen wearing a multicolored t-shirt, black pants and black sneakers. The second suspect is a Hispanic girl, approximately 15-18 years old and with long hair. She was last seen wearing a red t-shirt, dark pants, and purple shoes. The third individual is a black girl between 15 and 18 years old and was last seen wearing a floral dress and sandals.

Suspect 3

Anyone with information in regard to the identity of these individuals is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.