Police Blotter
BY CHRISS WILLIAMS
Doting and
dollarless
An Upper East Side grandmother
was swindled out of $60,000 by
someone pretending to be a lawyer
helping her grandson, police say.
According to the NYPD, the 88-
year-old received a phone call from
someone pretending to be her grandson
on Nov. 2. The impostor urged
the woman to speak with his attorney,
“Walter Becker,” about a pending
criminal case.
Later that day, the lawyer called
the worried grandmother and asked
for $33,600 in order to reverse or
dissolve criminal charges placed on
her grandson.
The grandmother agreed and
Becker sent a courier to her 87th
Street residence to collect the funds,
police said.
The grandmother was contacted
for a third time later that Saturday
by someone identifying themselves
as “Judge Sessions” who requested
an additional $30,000 in order to
pay her grandson’s rehab and medical
expenses.
Again the woman agreed to pay,
and a second courier was sent to her
home to collect the money, police
said.
The next day, the woman contacted
officers to report that she had
fallen victim to a scam, police said.
Authorities are investigating the incident.
Not good
A man was arrested for trying to
rob a bodega at 1391 Second Avenue
and East 73rd Street was arrested
on Saturday, Nov. 2.
At about 12:40 p.m., 42-year-old
Taylor Livingston entered the store
with his hands inside his jacket
pockets as if he was concealing a
weapon, according to police.
Livingston then approached a 20-
year-old cashier and said “give me
what you have in the register,” police
said.
The employee threatened to call
the authorities to which Livingston
replied, “that won’t be good for
you,” authorities said.
After making the remark, Livingston
fled the bodega empty-handed
and was arrested by officers shortly
after near FDR Drive and East 96th
Street.
An aggressive ask
A man panhandling outside of Korean Express at 807 Lexington Ave. punched
an employee on Monday, Nov. 3.
According to police, at 3:44 p.m. a 23-year-old walked into the restaurant to
ask patrons for money. A store employee asked the person to leave the restaurant
to which they replied, “Why are you asking me so aggressive?”
The panhandler then punched the employee, cutting them on the right side of
the face, police said. Offi cers from the 19th Precinct arrested the person who was
then charged with a misdemeanor assault.
He’s sliced at the pizza shop
Police are looking for two people they say slashed a man inside the 99 Cents
Fresh Pizza store in Greenwich Village over the weekend.
On Saturday, Nov. 9, at about 8:50 p.m., a 67-year-old man got into an argument
with an unknown man and woman, which escalated into a physical fi ght,
police said.
The male suspect attempted to stab the victim but ended up cutting the victim’s
hand before the two suspect fl ed to a nearby subway station, police said.
EMS took the victim to Mount Sinai Beth Israel to treat his injuries.
On Monday, police released surveillance photos and video from the vicinity
of where the incident took place.
The suspects are described as 30-40 years old — the woman was in all white
and the man was in all dark clothing.
Call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS with info on the case.
— Shaye Weaver
Crooks force victim to withdraw from ATM
Robbers took a man’s cellphone and money after
forcing him to take cash out of several ATMs,
police said.
At about 10:50 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27, in
front of 355 W. 16 St., between Eighth and Ninth
Aves., a 23-year-old man realized he no longer had
his cell phone. Two men then approached him and
said they knew where to fi nd his phone, but he
would have to pay them to retrieve it, police said.
The victim got into their vehicle, offi cials said,
and he saw a knife on the dashboard. He was then
taken to several ATMs, where he withdrew a total
of about $400 and gave it to the men, but the suspects did not give the man his
phone like they had promised, according to police.
— Gabe Herman
Eight-minute theft
Numero 28, a restaurant located at
1431 First Ave., was burglarized early
morning Sunday, Nov. 3 at around
1:40 a.m.
According to police, a surveillance
video shows an individual wearing
white sneakers, a red hat and blue
jeans entering the location for approximately
eight minutes and removing
a cash register containing $2,111
before fl eeing southbound on First
Avenue.
‘Please don’t
arrest me’
A man was arrested for attempting
to steal a locked bike on Sunday, Nov.
3. at the corner of Columbus and
West 83rd Street.
The almost-bicycle thief, 47-yearold
Julio Espinosa, had a power tool
in his hands when offi cers found him
next to the Van Moof bicycle worth
$ 1,998.
Before being arrested Espinosa told
offi cers “I need the money for this
bike, please don’t arrest me.” Offi cers
arrested Espinosa and charged with a
felony grand larceny.
‘I got your
money’
A woman’s neighbor stole $900
from her purse on Oct. 28, according
to police.
At about 3 p.m., a 66-year-old
woman returned her neighbor’s
house at 489 Amsterdam Ave., to get
her bag, which she forgot during a
social visit. She was greeted by her
neighbor’s 23-year-old son, Carlos
Garcia, who immediately confessed,
“I got your money but it’s gone,” police
said.
Garcia returned her bag sans the
$900 inside it, police said. The incident
is under investigation.
Park & permit
Police are looking for a disability
parking permit that went missing from
a parked car late last month.
According to police, a 66-year-old
Bronx woman parked her car inside a
garage at 290 West 60th St. with the
disabled parking permit inside. When
she checked the car at 10:30 a.m. on
Oct. 26, the permit was nowhere to be
found. Police said that there were no
signs of damage to the vehicle.
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6 November 14, 2019 MEX Schneps Media
/www.TheVillager.com