POLICE BEAT: Jewelry Store Robbery, Bar Assault, ATM Hold-Up
All incidents are as reported by the First Precinct.
15 Park Row
Dec. 17, 2:25 p.m.
A 20-year-old man is under arrest for punching a J&R employee, 62, in the face, causing redness and swelling, after the employee confronted him for trying to use a forged American Express card to purchase a computer.
1 Whitehall
Dec. 16, 12 a.m.
A thief lifted a woman’s North Face backpack and Jordan sneakers, valued collectively at $230—along with her credit card and driver's license—while she was asleep on a bench at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal.
132 Nassau
Dec. 14, 4:30 p.m.
A man entered Omega Jewelers brandishing a firearm and forcing the employee and his daughter into the back room. He and another perpetrator tied up the daughter’s hands using zip ties and the man’s hands and feet with a vacuum cord. The thieves, who police say were wearing gloves, removed large amounts of jewelry from inside the display cabinets and from a desk inside the backroom. One of them also snatched a chain from the man’s neck. The men then left the store and fled in an unknown direction. They made off with approximately $90,000 worth of jewelry, including 45 diamond engagement rings, a steel pendant worth $800, 30 earrings and 10 necklaces.
225 Murray
Dec. 14, 2:30 a.m.
A 45-year-old man was arrested for assaulting a man he was arguing with at a bar. The assailant threw a wine glass toward another man and, when being confronted, struck the victim in the head with a glass bottle. The victim was treated at Bellevue Hospital for a laceration on his forehead.
118 Water
Dec. 13, 9 p.m.
A thief severed two locks of a gated newsstand and snatched an unknown amount of merchandise, the stand’s vendor told police.
Greenwich and Canal
Dec. 13, 2:30 a.m.
A perpetrator struck a 43-year-old man with a BB gun in the back of his head, causing a laceration. The victim fought with the perpetrator and managed to snatch the gun away from him. The perpetrator stated, “I just wanted money, man—if you give me money, I’ll leave you alone.” “Can you give me my gun back?” “Don’t hurt me, don’t kill me,” the victim replied, holding onto the gun. The perpetrator then fled.
Broadway and Warren
Dec. 12, 4:20 p.m.
A 33-year-old woman making a withdrawal at the Bank of America was approached from behind by a man who put his arm around her and stated, “Shut up and don’t scream.” The man then directed the woman to cross Broadway while simulating a weapon pressed against her right side. He reportedly said to her, “Give me everything you took out of the bank,” and then removed an envelope containing $1,430 from the woman’s hand. The thief continued to walk southbound with the woman before fleeing.