Police blotter
Talkative creep in Tribeca picked up
woman on train, tried to rape her: NYPD
BY ROBERT
POZARYCKI
Detectives are looking
for the chatty
creep in Tribeca
who tried to rape a young
woman whom he met on
a subway train over the
weekend.
The NYPD released
video footage of the suspect
sought for the Feb. 20
attack.
Cops said the trouble
began at about 9 p.m. that
night, when the perpetrator
struck up a conversation
with the woman, 25, on
board a northbound F train
from Brooklyn.
Moments later, authorities
victim departed the F train
at the Chambers Street,
and they walked to an
apartment building in the
area of Franklin Street
between Church Street and
Broadway.
As they approached the
building, police noted, the
suspect went on the attack
Bigot sought for smearing NYU
campus in Greenwich Village
with symbols of hate
The suspect and victim (blurred out) are shown
exiting the Chambers Street station on the F line
on Feb. 20, 2021.
The suspect whom, police said,
trashed the walls of NYU Tisch Hall
on Feb. 6 with a swastika and anti-
Black graffiti.
Brooklyn man cuffed for role in heist at SoHo Chanel shop
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A Brooklyn man was arrested
in Florida several days
after his alleged involvement
in a nearly $200,000 heist in
a Manhattan Chanel store.
Eric Spencer, 29, was charged
with one count of robbery. He is
currently being held in Florida
and is set to appear before a judge
in Miami — he will be extradited
to New York at some point after
his arraignment, offi cials say.
“As alleged, Eric Spencer put
the public and store personnel in
grave danger when he committed
a brazen daylight armed robbery
of a SoHo boutique earlier this
month,” said U.S. Attorney Audrey
Strauss. “Spencer allegedly
threatened a store security guard
by displaying the handle of his
gun as he barked orders to his
said, the suspect and
— shoving the victim
into the vestibule, and then
attempting to remove her
clothing and sexually assault
her.
Cops said the woman
managed to fi ght off the
attacker, who then fled
on foot in an unknown
direction.
The incident was reported
to the 1st Precinct. The
woman was not seriously
injured.
Police did not provide a
physical description of the
suspect. The video shows
him walking with the victim
at the Chambers Street
station and on the street
moments before the attack.
Anyone with information
regarding his whereabouts
can call Crime Stoppers at
800-577-TIPS (for Spanish,
dial 888-57-PISTA). You
can also submit tips online
at nypdcrimestoppers.com,
or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls and messages are
kept confi dential.
co-conspirators to ‘grab everything.’
Now the FBI and NYPD
have grabbed Spencer, who is in
federal custody and awaiting his
day in court.”
According to offi cials, on Feb.
2 Spencer allegedly robbed the
Chanel store, located in SoHo,
alongside three co-conspirators,
and the four allegedly began to
pull handbags and other items off
the wall. When confronted by a
security guard, Spencer allegedly
said, “What are you going to do?
Shoot me?” and reached into his
waistband, where the guard allegedly
saw the handle of a fi rearm.
Spencer then allegedly yelled,
“Nobody touch me! Get everything!
Grab everything!” Spencer
and the three other thieves then
allegedly took off with handbags
and other merchandise valued at
$189,500. Spencer then allegedly
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Detectives in Manhattan are looking
for the bigot who painted a
swastika and hate-fi lled messages
onto the side of a building on the New York
University campus in Greenwich Village
earlier this month.
Cops said the incident happened at about
11:15 a.m. on Feb. 6 in front of Tisch Hall,
located at 40 West 4th St.
According to police, the racist vandal
used spray-paint to scrawl a swastika on
the side of the building and write what the
NYPD described as anti-Black rhetoric.
After trashing Tisch Hall, authorities
said, he fl ed from the scene on foot northbound
along Greene Street.
The incident was reported to the 6th
Precinct. As part of its investigation, the
NYPD obtained video footage of the
vandal, taken on the day of the attack and
released on Feb. 17. amNewYork Metro
reached out to NYU’s Public Safety Department
for information about the incident,
and is awaiting a response.
Cops described the bigot as a heavy-set
man with a light complexion between 5
bragged on social media about
having so many items from the
store that he could “OPEN A
SMALL BOUTIQUE.”
The FBI-NYPD Joint Major
Theft Task Force traced Spencer
to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where
he was arrested on Feb. 20 at 6
p.m. His three co-conspirators
remain at large.
If convicted, Spencer faces up
to 20 years in prison.
feet, 8 inches tall and 5 feet, 10 inches tall
who wore a dark-colored jacket, dark blue
jeans, black sneakers and a gray cap.
Anyone with information about the
incident or the suspect’s whereabouts can
call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for
Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also
submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.
com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls
and messages are kept confi dential.
“Spencer’s arrest highlights the
importance of good investigative
work and the continuing efforts of
the FBI-NYPD Joint Major Theft
Task Force,” said NYPD Commissioner
Dermot Shea. “I commend
our partners in the United States
Attorney’s Offi ce in the Southern
District of New York for their
commitment to bringing justice
for the victims in this despicable
crime.”
“We allege Mr. Spencer was
part of a robbery crew, and in
this instance he carried a fi rearm,
during a violent takeover
of a retail store. Mr. Spencer’s
alleged actions violated federal
law, and he is now in our custody,”
said FBI Assistant Director
William F. Sweeney Jr. “For
others who plan to behave in the
same manner, listen up – the FBI
is committed to using every tool
at our disposal to hold violent
criminals accountable for their
decisions, and our partnership
with the NYPD is airtight. When
you break federal law, expect to
spend some time in one of our
courtrooms. As always, thank
you to the NYPD detectives for
their outstanding work in this
investigation, their constant efforts
are essential to keeping our
citizens safe.”
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