Tag Archives: package theft

Pair arrested for package thefts in Stuyvesant Town

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested two men for alleged package burglaries from a number of buildings inside Stuyvesant Town during the early morning hours of Christmas Day last week.

Police said that 19-year-old Rahul Cuya and 32-year-old Justin Irizarry broke into six different buildings between the hours of 1 and 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, December 25 and took packages from the lobbies.

Cuya and Irizarry allegedly got inside 245 Avenue C at 1 a.m. and stole packages from inside the building. Shortly after that, the two men reportedly got into 277 Avenue C and stole packages. Police said that Cuya and Irizarry got into 651 East 14th Street around 1:15 a.m. and stole packages from that building before breaking into 271 Avenue C and allegedly stealing packages from inside that building as well. Police said that the two suspects also got inside 281 Avenue C and 645 East 14th Street around 1:40 a.m.

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Police Watch: Alleged subway ‘grinder’ arrested, Men charged with assault outside Food Emporium

ALLEGED SUBWAY ‘GRINDER’ ON 6 TRAIN ARRESTED
Police arrested 64-year-old Mohamed Abdel Rahim for alleged sexual abuse inside the Union Square station on Tuesday, November 20 at 5:30 p.m. Rahim allegedly thrust his erect penis onto the victim’s buttocks while they were on an uptown 6 train. Police said that Rahim and the victim did not know each other.

MEN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT OUTSIDE FOOD EMPORIUM
Police arrested 43-year-old Kitwane Parkinson and 39-year-old Alexander Rivera for an alleged assault on Monday, November 19 at 4:25 p.m. in front of 10 Union Square East. Parkinson and Rivera allegedly kicked and punched the victim inside the location due to an argument they had earlier in the day. Police said that the victim had bruised lips.

WOMAN ACCUSED OF STEALING WALLET FROM HOLIDAY MARKET VENDOR
Police arrested 32-year-old Dominique Elgin for an alleged theft that took place in Union Square earlier this month. A vendor at the Union Square Holiday Market told police that she left her purse on a chair in her booth on Sunday, November 18 and around 5:50 p.m., she noticed that her wallet was missing from the bag. Police said that Elgin had allegedly used the victim’s credit card. She was busted on Wednesday, November 21 at 7:20 p.m. inside the 13th Precinct.

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Police Watch: Man arrested for allegedly filming woman, Handy.com worker accused of theft

MAN ALLEGEDLY FILMED TEEN MCDONALD’S EMPLOYEE WHILE SHE WAS CHANGING
Police arrested 19-year-old Jose Urtarte Encarcanacion for alleged unlawful surveillance inside the McDonald’s at 401 Park Avenue South and East 28th Street on Friday, October 26 at 5:07 p.m. According to the District Attorney’s office, the 17-year-old victim went into a unisex single-person changing area for employees at the restaurant.

Police said that the private area has a curtain that can be closed, and the victim went inside to change her clothes. She said that once she was in the changing area, she noticed an iPhone 7 plus propped up on the coat rack with the camera app open, and she saw that the phone was recording video. Police said that officers recovered the phone from Encarcanacion’s pocket while he was in the back office of the McDonald’s. At the time, he also allegedly said, “Am I in trouble? Will there be any punishment? The phone must have clicked on the video camera. iPhones do that.”

An attorney for Encarcanacion could not be reached for comment.

HANDY.COM WORKER ACCUSED OF THEFT
Police arrested 26-year-old Destiny Matos for an alleged theft from an apartment at 39 West 16th Street on October 8 around 7 p.m. Police said that while Matos was working for cleaning service Handy.com, she allegedly took the victim’s credit card from her apartment and later made several unauthorized charges. Matos was charged with grand larceny inside the 13th Precinct on Tuesday, October 23 at 7:48 p.m.

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Police Watch: Man arrested for office burglaries, fake Fed Ex worker arrested for package theft

MAN CHARGED WITH COMMERCIAL BURGLARIES IN FLATIRON
Police arrested 46-year-old Antonio Jones for alleged thefts and burglaries that took place inside 43 West 24th Street last weekend. Police said that Jones went to the fifth floor of the Flatiron building, occupied by Even Financial, on Saturday, August 18 at 4:38 a.m. and stole a laptop. Jones reported returned to the building the next night at 3:41 a.m. and took another laptop from the same office. Police said that he then went to the sixth floor of the building, occupied by Mighty Hive, and removed a computer from that office as well. He also allegedly entered the offices of Blackwood Seven on the seventh floor of the building but police said that he didn’t take anything from that office.
Jones was arrested inside the 13th Precinct on Tuesday, August 21 at 11:20 a.m. He was charged with burglary and attempted burglary.

FAKE FED EX WORKER ALLEGEDLY STOLE PACKAGE
Police arrested 48-year-old George Sciarrone for an alleged theft inside 69 West 14th Street on Thursday, August 23 at 8:21 p.m. Police said that Sciarrone was seen through a doorbell camera saying that he was a Fed Ex employee who needed access to 38 West 15th Street. He was able to gain entry to the building and police said that he removed a package there without permission. He was also seen exiting the building and allegedly opened the package and removed the contents. Sciarrone was charged with petit larceny and criminal trespass.

MAN ARRESTED FOR SMASHING DUANE READE DOOR
Police arrested 28-year-old Justin Benneate for alleged criminal mischief at the corner of Irving Place and East 18th Street on Wednesday, August 22 at 12:25 a.m. An officer was driving south on Third Avenue when he allegedly saw Benneate smashing a skateboard on the glass door of a Duane Reade near East 18th Street. Police said that the suspect then fled west on East 18th Street and when the officer drove around the block, he saw that Benneate was allegedly going inside Pete’s Tavern. The officer went into the restaurant and brought the suspect back to the scene, where witnesses identified him.

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Suspect arrested for Peter Cooper Village burglaries

Peter Cooper Village

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police have arrested a man for allegedly stealing packages and bikes in Peter Cooper Village buildings on various days in April.

In one of the most recent incidents, James Curry, 55 allegedly took a bike from inside 370 First Avenue on Monday, April 23 around 3 p.m. The victim told police that he left his bike in the hallway of the building and when he returned, it was missing. Police said that a man could be seen on surveillance video removing the bike, and Curry reportedly identified himself on the video.

The first incident took place on Monday, April 2 sometime between 1 and 10:30 p.m. inside 431 East 20th Street when Curry allegedly stole packages containing knee-high suede boots as well as energy drinks belonging to two different residents.

Both victims told police that they had the items delivered to the building but never received the packages. A porter for the building also told police that he found empty boxes for both the boots and the energy drinks and that someone had taken the items without permission.

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Police Watch: Teen arrested for Blue Smoke robbery, Driver charged with alleged vehicular assault

The five robbery suspects seen at Blue Smoke restaurant in Flatiron

FIFTH TEENAGER ARRESTED FOR BLUE SMOKE ROBBERY
Police arrested a fifth teenager for the robbery at Blue Smoke restaurant at 116 East 27th Street on March 18. Police said that the teens approached a host in the restaurant around 7 p.m. and claimed they were raising money for a basketball team before grabbing cash from the victim and fleeing. When the victim chased after them, one of them hit him in the back of the head. The fifth teen was charged with robbery for the incident inside the 13th precinct on April 11 at 10:37 a.m. His name is being withheld due to his young age.

DRIVER CHARGED WITH HITTING PEDESTRIAN ON SECOND AVENUE AND 23RD STREET
Police arrested 23-year-old Kenneth Rowe for alleged vehicular assault at the corner of First Avenue and East 23rd Street on April 13. The victim told police that he was crossing East 23rd Street near Second Avenue at around 3:30 p.m. and was in the crosswalk when Rowe allegedly started turning. The victim told police that Rowe saw him and spoke with him, then allegedly revved his engine and struck him, causing an injury, but was arrested a block away from the incident.

MAN ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING OFFICER AT BELLEVUE
Police arrested 39-year-old Jamar Moore for alleged assault of a peace officer inside Bellevue Hospital at 462 First Avenue on April 10 at 1 a.m. Officers were restraining Moore inside the hospital when he allegedly head-butted the officer intentionally, causing minor bruising and swelling to the area above his eye. Police said that Moore has previously been arrested for assaulting an officer, as well as for petit larceny and transit crimes.

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Police Watch: Man charged with robbery in Stuy Town, Arrest for trespassing in Stuy Town

Robbery suspect

MAN CHARGED WITH ROBBERY IN STUY TOWN
Police arrested 18-year-old Davin Quirindongo for allegedly stealing from a woman on Avenue C in March. According to the district attorney’s office, Quirindongo bumped up against her and grabbed her wallet while she was walking in front of 319 Avenue C on March 22 at 10:10 p.m. Town & Village reported on this incident last week when police were still looking for the suspect and Stuy Town management clarified at the time that the incident actually occurred on the Avenue C Loop Road.
Police said that officers tracked down Quirindongo because he used one of the victim’s credit cards. Quirindongo was arrested for grand larceny from a person and possession of stolen property on April 5 at 5:30 p.m. and the DA’s office charged him with robbery and grand larceny. An attorney for Quirindongo declined to comment.

ARREST FOR TRESPASSING IN STUY TOWN
Police arrested 55-year-old James Curry for burglars tools and criminal trespass inside 310 First Avenue last Wednesday at 8:04 p.m. Police said that Curry entered the building by walking behind a resident to gain access and proceeding to the basement into the laundry room. Curry was allegedly carrying bolt cutters when he was approached by security.
Curry pled guilty at a pre-arraignment deposition on April 5 and was given a conditional discharge, meaning he would not be sentenced for the offense unless a further offense is committed within a year.

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Man wanted for package thefts, vandalism in Stuy Town

Package theft suspect (Photo courtesy of StuyTown Property Services)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

In what seems to be an ongoing battle to stay a step ahead of local package thieves, a couple of buildings in Stuyvesant Town were hit recently by a man who management also believes is responsible for some graffiti.

StuyTown Property Services notified residents in an email this week that a man has been stealing packages and vandalizing apartment doors, most recently “piggybacking” into 649 East 14th Street on Monday. Packages were subsequently reported missing from the hallway and management believes that the man also vandalized a number of doors in 17 Stuyvesant Oval.

A resident confirmed to Town & Village last Friday that a delivery man had been running loose in the building, staying inside for 40 to 50 minutes last Wednesday, during which he drew penises on three apartment doors on two different floors and “trashed” the second floor, ripping open multiple packages, although it was unclear if anything was stolen from the boxes. The resident noted that the doors had been cleaned and repainted by Thursday.

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Police Watch: Man wanted for robbery, Woman arrested for assault

MEN WANTED FOR KICKING, ROBBING 62-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN ALPHABET CITY
Police are looking for two men who robbed and kicked a 62-year-old woman on East 5th Street between Avenues C and D on Saturday, August 19 around 8 p.m. Police said that the two suspects followed the woman down the street and kicked her, causing her to fall to the ground, and fled with her purse. Police said that the victim sustained bruising and swelling.
The first suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his twenties and was last seen wearing a blue jersey with the number “12” on the front, blue jeans and wore his hat backwards. The second suspect is described as a black man in his twenties who was shirtless and wearing his hat backwards.
Anyone with information in regards 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 Crime stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

UPDATE: Police have arrested 16-year-old Ian Williams and a 14-year-old boy in connection with this robbery on Thursday around 12:36 a.m.

Robbery suspects

WOMAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT OF SENIOR IN GRAMERCY
Police arrested 56-year-old Deborah Sanders for an alleged assault in the lobby of 141 East 23rd Street, a residential building for seniors, last Monday at 11:20 a.m. Police said that Sanders got into an argument with a 69-year-old woman over the victim taking photos of her. Sanders then allegedly smacked and punched the victim in the face, causing cuts to her forehead and mouth. Police said that the suspect and victim did not know each other.

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Three men arrested for package thefts in Stuy Town

Packages at 441 E 20

Three men were arrested for allegedly stealing packages from Stuy Town (not the ones pictured from a past pileup).

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested three men for stealing packages in a Stuyvesant Town building this past Tuesday afternoon. Emicel Basurto, 29, Damon Barnes, 40, and Jemal Martin, 42, were busted inside 435 East 14th Street at 2:52 p.m. while allegedly going through packages that had been delivered to the building.

A representative for StuyTown Property Services said that a janitorial supervisor noticed a man fitting the description of an alleged package thief walking near East 14th Street and Avenue A with two other men. Management knew what the suspect looked like because of surveillance video taken at buildings where thefts had previously occurred.

According to the District Attorney’s office, Basurto could be seen on video surveillance entering 453 East 14th Street on December 27 around 4:30 p.m. He allegedly took an elevator upstairs and left shortly after, but police said that a package that had been confirmed delivered was not at her apartment when she got home.

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Police Watch: Man stabbed in Union Square, Man nabbed for package theft

MAN STABBED IN UNION SQUARE
A man was stabbed in Union Square on Monday night around 9 p.m. DNAinfo reported that the 23-year-old victim was stabbed in the stomach twice after he got into an argument that turned physical. The victim was brought to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, police said. No arrests have been made.

MAN ARRESTED FOR PACKAGE THEFT IN STUYVESANT TOWN BUILDING
Police arrested 22-year-old Da Tang for petit larceny inside 271 Avenue C last Tuesday at 1:50 p.m. Witnesses told police that Tang took a package from a mailbox in the building and left with it. Police said that a further investigation revealed that the package didn’t belong to Tang and that he doesn’t know the package’s owner. Tang allegedly claimed that he took the package because its owner doesn’t live at the location. Tang was also charged with possession of stolen property.

MAVEN HOTEL EMPLOYEE ARRESTED FOR ASSAULTING WOMAN WHO BROKE DOOR, WOMAN ALSO ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT OF EMPLOYEE
Police arrested 37-year-old Andres Jimenez and 27-year-old Maria Ortiz in connection with an incident outside the Maven Hotel at 62 Madison Avenue last Friday at 4:17 a.m. Ortiz said that she was trying to enter the hotel and when she found that the door was locked, she allegedly kicked the glass, causing it to crack.
Police said that Jimenez, who is the night manager at the hotel, chased Ortiz after she reportedly damaged the door and he allegedly grabbed her by the shoulders, slamming her to the sidewalk repeatedly. He allegedly held her body to the ground by putting his arm on her torso, causing a visible bruise to her shoulder. Police said that Ortiz also struggled with Jimenez and wrestled him to the ground, allegedly biting both of his legs, causing visible bruises.
Ortiz was treated at Bellevue Hospital and was released. Jimenez refused medical assistance. Both were charged with assault, and Ortiz was additionally charged with criminal mischief.

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Residents get warning after Stuy Town package thefts

By Sabina Mollot

StuyTown Property Services is warning residents to be mindful after a few “isolated incidents” of packages being rifled through and going missing from building hallways.

The warning came via an emailed newsletter on Saturday, and went on to say management is reviewing surveillance footage from the affected areas and security is beefing up patrols at those addresses.

The chief of Stuy Town’s public safety department, William McClellan, said, “We would like to take this time to remind residents to not let anyone into the building that isn’t known to them personally. This is an easy way for non-residents to gain access to our buildings and potentially compromise the building’s security. It may seem impolite but it is an important matter of safety.”

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Police Watch: Copper wire thief on the loose, Arrest for package thefts in PCV

Copper wire thief

Copper wire thief

POLICE LOOKING FOR COPPER WIRE THIEF
Police are asking the public’s assistance in identifying a man wanted for stealing $900 worth of copper wire.
On Wednesday, September 30, at approximately 10:30 a.m., a man broke through a deadbolt lock and gained access to the roof of 110 West 14th Street. Once on the roof, the suspect removed twenty pounds of copper wire and two copper grounding plates from a Verizon cellular tower at the location. The suspect, who was last seen wearing a white hard hat, a dark Nike t-shirt with a bright-color swoosh, tan pants and white footwear, fled the scene.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto nypdcrimestoppers.com or texting their tips and TIP577 to 274637 (CRIMES). All calls are kept strictly confidential.

MAN ARRESTED FOR PACKAGE ‘THEFT’ AT PCV
Town & Village reported last week that a man was apprehended by security for allegedly swiping packages in Peter Cooper, thanks to an eagle-eyed resident.
Police have since identified the suspect as 47-year-old Jose Gonzalez who has been arrested for petit larceny, possession of stolen property and criminal trespass last Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. inside 420 East 23rd Street.
A Stuy Town security officer said that multiple tenants had told him that an unknown man had been going through delivery packages on multiple floors in the building, removing items from the packages and putting them into a red bag that he was carrying. Security arrived at the building and stopped Gonzalez in the corridor of 420 East 23rd.
Gonzalez allegedly told security that he entered the building behind someone after the door had been opened, and he said that he was there to “hook up” with a man named Angel who was in apartment 8A. Upon further investigation, police found that there wasn’t anybody by that name in that apartment and no one was in that apartment at all at that time.
Police said that there were items in Gonzalez’s red bag that were still in packaging and were addressed to people who lived inside the building. Two of the items had the address of that building and the owners were present to validate that they had ordered and not received the items. Police said that there were three items in Gonzalez’s bag from J. Crew that he said did not belong to him. Open boxes were recovered by security on the 13th and seventh floors. Gonzalez was also charged with burglary.

TEENS ARRESTED FOR ‘PICK-POCKETING’ IN STUYVESANT TOWN
Eighteen-year-olds Louis Morrison and Angel Nunez were arrested for grand larceny at 274 First Avenue last Wednesday at 4:35 a.m. Stuy Town security saw Morrison and Nunez on surveillance tape walking on the street and allegedly removed small items from the victim’s pants pockets. Security officers confronted the teens and called 911, and police said that a wallet with credit cards and a cell phone were found on the suspects.

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UPS says delivery policy never changed

Packages recently piled up in the lobby of Council Member Dan Garodnick’s building in Peter Cooper Village. (Photo by Dan Garodnick)

Packages recently piled up in the lobby of Council Member Dan Garodnick’s building in Peter Cooper Village. (Photo by Dan Garodnick)

By Sabina Mollot
Back in April, CompassRock alerted residents to a change in policy in which UPS would no longer be leaving packages for residents outside their doors without their signatures. Instead, residents were advised they could get a membership to Oval Concierge, which would accept packages on their behalf. One month of complimentary service was offered in the emailed alert to residents “while you sort out your plans to get deliveries safely home.”
However, this week, UPS said that it never changed its policy and that packages could still be left outside doors. Council Member Dan Garodnick was made aware of this in a letter from UPS’s Vice President of State Government Affairs Mark Giuffre, after contacting the company. Garodnick also said he’s since alerted Oval Concierge to the error.
When asked about the alert, a spokesperson for UPS, Dan McMackin, told T&V, “We’re confused. We have no idea what they’re talking about.”
He added that there are buildings where owners handle packages for tenants and in those buildings, tenants are notified by UPS that the owner has them. However, said McMackin, there’s no such agreement at ST/PCV.
In response to a call from T&V, a spokesperson for CWCapital, Brian Moriarty, said the reason the alert went out is because UPS drivers were the ones to make a call as to whether or not to leave packages in buildings. Apparently they can decline to do so in the event of package thefts being reported at a particular building.
“We were just told by the customer service rep it is the driver’s discretion whether or not to leave a package when three or more packages have gone missing from a particular location,” Moriarty. “I don’t know that the flag on certain PCVST building would necessarily be communicated to the national (UPS) office.”
Meanwhile, Garodnick said he’s also followed up on another issue relating to packages left in buildings. In recent months, residents have been complaining that a third party delivery company for Amazon has been leaving packages unattended in building lobbies.
Recently, when spotting a deliveryman doing just this in his own building, Garodnick said he asked why the packages were being left there. The response: “He said, ‘Well most people aren’t home,’” said Garodnick. “So I’ve raised the issue with Amazon and they’re looking into the issue. I am trying to get us back into a place where people can expect to see packages in front of their doors without having to rely on Oval Concierge service.”
The third party delivery company, which apparently works for various dot coms, is called Special Logistics. They did not return a call by T&V’s press time.
McMackin said UPS would be looking into the matter of any packages left in lobbies. “Packages should not be showing up in lobbies,” he said.