60TH PRECINCT
CONEY ISLAND—BRIGHTON BEACH—
SEAGATE
Not lovin’ it
A crook took a kid’s McDonald’s
meal from a W. Sixth Street eatery
on Aug. 29.
The victim told police that the
punk threatened to stab him near
the intersection of Neptune Avenue
at around 1 am, before taking his
food and cash.
Lawn fi ght
Two bruisers attacked a man
with lawn chairs at Riegelmann
Boardwalk West playground on
Aug. 24.
The victim told police that the
malefactors asked him for a cigarette
near the intersection of Stillwell
Avenue at around 11:20 am, before
mugging him.
Shooter
A gunman shot a man at a W.
23rd Street public housing complex
on Aug. 23.
The victim told police that the
shooter pulled the trigger inside the
buildings between Mermaid and
Surf Avenues at around 2 am before
fl eeing undetected.
— Jessica Parks
62ND PRECINCT
BENSONHURST—BATH BEACH
Piggy bank heist
A brazen home intruder nabbed
a piggy bank from a 72nd Street
apartment on Aug. 28.
The victim told police that the
burglar snuck into her bedroom and
grabbed her toes inside the house
between 19th and 20th avenues at 4
am, before running away with her
piggy bank and her cellphone.
Sneak thief
A scoundrel stole fi ve pairs of
sneakers from a 21st Avenue building
on Aug. 26.
The victim told cops that the
bandit snagged the shoes — which
were worth $1,300 total — from the
hallway of the apartment building
between 85th and 86th streets at
around 7:30.
The crook left one pair of shoes
at the scene, which are being used
as investigatory evidence, according
to police reports.
Tired out
A bandit stole the wheels and
tires off a Benson Avenue car on
Aug. 28.
The victim told police that the
pilferer stole the tires and wheels,
which were worth $2,500, from her
car parked by Bay 20th Street at
about 4:50 am.
Gunman shoots church caretaker
inside Bed-Stuy house of worship
A police offi cer consoles a woman mourning outside of Glorious Church of God in
Christ after church caretaker Edward James was fatally shot. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Car break-in
A nogoodnik swiped a wallet
from an unlocked car on 70th Avenue
sometime between Aug. 27 and
Aug. 28.
The victim told police that he left
the wallet in his parked his car by
21st Avenue at 6 am, but before he
returned to the vehicle the following
morning, the bandit had broken
in and lifted the money holder from
the center console.
— Rose Adams
COURIER L 8 IFE, SEPT. 4–10, 2020 M BR B G
84TH PRECINCT
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS–DUMBO–
BOERUM HILL–DOWNTOWN
Cut short
Cops arrested a man for allegedly
stealing a phone at knifepoint
at Cadman Plaza E. on Aug. 30.
The victim told police that the
perp allegedly said “Give me your
phone so you don’t get stabbed”
near Tillary Street at 5:45 pm, before
grabbing the ill-gotten goods
and running off.
Police caught the suspect at the
scene at 6:35 pm, but didn’t fi nd a
knife on him, according to police.
Artisan raider
A looter ransacked a Jay Street
sculptor’s studio on Aug. 27.
The victim told police that the
purloiner got into her atelier between
Plymouth and John streets
at 1:30 pm through a partially-unlocked
door and snatched her laptop,
phone, and credit cards.
That sucks!
A nogoodnik nabbed a pair of vacuum
cleaners from the Target store
on Albee Square W on Aug. 24.
Employees told police that the
shoplifter took two vacuum cleaners
and fl ed the store at Fulton Street at
6:30 pm.
Wheely bad!
A bike bandit snatched an expensive
road bike on Atlantic Avenue
on Aug. 25.
The victim told police that the
thief cut the lock on her $1,800 twowheeler
between Hoyt and Bond
streets at around 5:30 pm and pedaled
away.
Auto-goon
Some thieves broke into a car at
MetroTech Center on Aug. 29.
The victim told cops that the
rogue busted his window between
Gold and Duffi eld streets at 1 pm
and stole a safety deposit box and
several identifi cation cards.
Midnight marauder
A carjacker stole a woman’s vehicle
on Duffi eld Street on Aug. 22.
The victim told police that she
parked her car near Willoughby
Street at midnight, but when she
came back at 8 am, it was gone.
88TH PRECINCT
FORT GREENE-CLINTON HILL
Triple shooting
A gunman shot three youngsters
on Myrtle Avenue on Aug. 30.
The victims, who were aged 16,
17, and 20 told police that the evildoer
shot at them between Washington
Park and Carlton Avenue at 1:35
am, hitting them in the arms, buttocks,
and legs.
Paramedics rushed the victims
to Methodist Hospital for treatment,
according to police reports.
Knifed!
Some villain slashed a man on
Tillary Street on Aug. 24.
The victim told police that the
reprobate stabbed him near Prince
Street shortly before 5 pm.
— Kevin Duggan
BY TODD MAISEL
A gunman fatally shot a beloved
church caretaker in Bedford
Stuyvesant on Monday afternoon,
devastating locals who remembered
62-year-old Edward James as
a staple of the neighborhood.
“He was an icon of the church,”
said 72-year-old Ronald Stewart, a
deacon at Glorious Church of God
in Christ. “He was a good man, he
never looked for any trouble.”
The shooter chased James into
the house of worship on Halsey
Street just after 5 pm and opened
fi re, hitting him once in the back —
before fl eeing the scene undetected.
Paramedics rushed the victim
to Kings County Hospital, where
doctors pronounced him dead on
arrival. Police have not made any
arrests in the case, and the search
for the shooter remains ongoing.
Neighbors hailed James — who
started working as the groundskeeper
for the church 20 years ago
while he was homeless, and whom
church-goers called “Swayne”
— for working as a local handyman
and assisting the elderly, and
pleaded for the recent uptick in gun
violence to stop.
“He didn’t deserve this,” said
Deacon Ronald Porter. “America
needs less division and more love
right now…Bed-Stuy needs to put
the guns down. There is more to life
than stealing another life.”
The death comes as the city grapples
withan uptick in gun violence
since June, with 955 shootings citywide
since the start of the year.