Police Beat

It was a late-night knife-point robbery

Posted

It may not be the most dangerous neighborhood in the Bronx, but walking the desolate streets of North Riverdale at odd hours still calls for vigilance and common safety sense.

A 26-year-old woman probably wishes she’d been traveling with a buddy, or at least watching her back. She told cops she was walking from the 6300 block of Broadway a little after midnight April 3 when a man reportedly followed her to the 5700 block of Faraday Avenue. 

There he jumped her, police said, holding a blade to her neck, inflicting minor cuts, threatening to kill her if she screamed and pushing her to the ground — all so he could take her purse.

Inside that purse were a Samsung phone police valued at around $200, a hand bag worth $20; $5 cash, and a Wells Fargo debit card and credit cards.

Cameras along Broadway may have helped cops catch a glimpse of the alleged knife-wielding bandit, whom they described as about 5-foot-5, 115 pounds, wearing a black sweater and jacket.

 

Broken knobs, but doors won’t budge

One way to catch would-be burglars is to equip a home with surveillance cameras.

A 33-year-old man is probably glad he did that. He told police he was taking out the trash April 4 around 4:25 p.m., when he noticed the knobs on doors leading to his basement were broken off. 

Sensing something was amiss, he checked out the video footage from his home security cameras and saw a guy cops described as about 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, with curly black hair wearing a black jacket and blue jeans, sneaking around the outside of his house. 

The would-be miscreant reportedly made his way to the back, grabbed a pipe, and knocked off the knobs in an attempt to get into the basement, police said.

The doors were reportedly too strong, however, because even after smashing the knobs, the guy couldn’t get in.

 

Snatching furs from wheelchairs

Some crooks scope out easy targets. But not all succeed.

A 60-year-old told cops she was rolling northbound in a wheelchair at the southeast corner of Broadway and West 230th Street when a 25-year-old woman reportedly crept up and snatched her fur clothing off the handle of her wheelchair before fleeing toward Exterior Street and Broadway a little before 5 p.m., on April 7.

But it wasn’t a clean getaway for the fur snatcher, police said, because witnesses called cops, who responded immediately, arresting and charging her with robbery.

 

Beating by brick, perps a mystery

It isn’t clear who did the beating but one guy got badly hurt.

Police say they found a 25-year-old knocked out, laying on his back with a large brick next to his head on the corner of Tibbett Avenue and West 240th Street last Sunday morning around 4 a.m. He had cuts to the back of his head and his face badly bruised. 

Paramedics took the poor fellow to St. Barnabas Hospital in Belmont.

Police Beat, Zak Kostro