Police Blotter: Two Crooks Mug Man on Eighth Ave. for Cell Phone and Wallet

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

Violent Mugging on Eighth Ave.

Two robbers beat a man up on Eighth Avenue for his cell phone and wallet on Aug. 13.

The 45-year-old victim told police that he was walking along Eighth Avenue, between Second and Third streets, at around 9:45 p.m. when two men grabbed him by the throat, put him in a choke hold and threw him to the ground. The crooks — who the victim described as black men both weighing 180 lbs., while one was 6-foot with short hair and the other was 5-foot-8 with an afro — forcibly removed the man’s BlackBerry from his hands and his wallet from his pocket. The crooks got away with two debit cards, two credit cards, his driver’s license and $5 in cash.

Bar Stool Bag Heist

A slick thief snatched a woman’s bag off the back of her chair while she was at a Fifth Avenue bar and got away with her cell phone on Aug. 14.

The 25-year-old victim told police that she was at Bar Reis, between Fifth and Sixth streets, when she put her bag on the back of her chair at around 1:40 a.m. Twenty minutes later, at 2 a.m., her bag was gone. The crook got away with her iPhone, $60 cash, credit cards and a NYS learner’s permit.

Smash and Grab on Seventh Street

A thief broke into a car parked on Seventh Street and stole $5,000 in golf clubs and electronics between Aug. 14 and 15.

The 31-year-old victim told police that he came back from vacation and parked his Ford Explorer between Third and Fourth avenues at around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 14 and left all of his stuff in the car. When he came back to his car the next day, at around 6 p.m., he found that someone had smashed his back right window and stole Ping and Titleist golf clubs, a Nikon camera, a laptop, a circular saw, golf balls and a diaper bag. The crook made off with $5,050 worth of goods.

Bike Bandit

Police arrested a 27-year-old man for stealing a woman’s iPhone, debit card and identification on Fourth Avenue on Aug. 15.

The 23-year-old victim told police that she was walking along Fourth Avenue, but as she got to the corner of Butler Street at around 8:30 a.m. a crook rode up to her on his bike, snatched her iPhone, debit card and driver’s license and raced away on two wheels. Police arrested him shortly after the mugging.

Diaper Bandit

A 46-year-old man was arrested for entering a Garfield Place apartment building illegally and stealing $130 worth of goods from the hallway on Aug. 15. 

The two victims, a 39-year-old woman and a 79-year-old man, told police that the crook rang the building’s bell, between Fourth and Fifth avenues, and used deception to get in at around 12:23 p.m. Once inside the building’s hallway, he stole a red shopping cart filled with baby wipes and diapers. After police arrested the man, the victim’s property was returned.