Crime & Safety

Cops Arrest Crook Right After Cellphone Snatch in Park Slope

Cops arrested an 18-year-old man seconds after he stole a woman's cellphone on Seventh Avenue on April 21.

Cellphone snatch! Not so fast.

On April 21, an 18-year-old man snatched a cellphone out of a woman’s hands and ran while she was standing on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Fourth Street, according to the Commanding Officer of the 78th precinct Captain Michael Ameri.

Ameri said that 23-year-old victim was just “minding her own business” before the young crook stole her iPhone at around 6:50 p.m.

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“She screamed, ‘Oh, my God, help me! Help me!’” Ameri said, explaining that an off-duty detective from the 72nd precinct was standing up the block and saw the robber running towards him.

Then the detective confronted the man and an EMT who was near by came to help restrain the crook until cops from the 78th precinct came to arrest him.

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The stolen iPhone was returned to the victim. 

“It was actually a great arrest,” Ameri said. “Cellphones getting stolen is a citywide problem and arrests for these crimes are hard to come by. It was a good job, everybody did a good job.”

The following information was supplied by the 78th Precinct of the NYPD. It does not indicate a conviction.


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