4 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 13, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM Fresh Meadows man cuff ed for opening & stealing from a Flushing mailbox BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI [email protected] @smont76 Police arrested a Fresh Meadows man who allegedly went fi shing for valuable mail out of a Flushing mailbox last week, authorities said. On April 4 at approximately 3:45 a.m., an eyewitness spotted the perpetrator, a 26-year-old Asian male, opening up a postal box at 130-38 60th Ave. with a key, but was not dressed as a postal worker, authorities said. Th e eyewitness then called the police. Offi cers from the 109th Precinct responded to the scene and found that the suspect did not have authority to gain access to the mailbox. Th e perpetrator, Jie Hong Chen, a resident of 150th Street and 71st Avenue, was arrested and charged with grand larceny, petty larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. He is currently in custody. Mail-related crime remains to be a problem in northeast Queens and throughout the city. Inspector Th omas Conforti visited a Whitestone civic meeting last November to inform residents of the prevalent mail fi shing scam and share some tips on how best to protect oneself from falling victim to the crime. Later, at the fi rst community council meeting of the new year, Deputy Inspector Judith Harrison, commanding offi cer of the 109th Precinct, said zeroing in on mail-related crime would continue to be a focus of the command. Students caught with knives, teen assaults cop days after stabbing at a high school in Flushing BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI [email protected] @smont76 A turbulent week at Flushing‘s John Bowne High School came to an end on Friday, April 7, with a student punching a cop and knives seized from three students, it was reported. According to an April 10 New York Daily News report, NYPD school safety agents confi scated knives from three diff erent students while screening them through metal detectors on Friday, April 7, at the school located at 63-25 Main St. One of the students, who was caught with a butterfl y knife, received a desk appearance ticket. Later that same day, it was reported, a student was arrested for punching a 32-year-old police offi cer who was attempting to break up a fi ght between the teen and another student at the school. Th e events came only a few days aft er the April 4 stabbing of a 16-year-old student, who was attacked by three students in the halls as a result of a prior altercation. Th e student was treated at NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens hospital for his injuries. Th e attackers were arrested and a 3-inch black folding knife used in the assault was recovered from the scene. Deputy Schools Chancellor Elizabeth Rose, who spoke at a press conference following the April 4 stabbing, said that the Flushing high school does not have full time metal detectors, but does have “unannounced, random scanning.” “We work in close partnership with the NYPD to provide students and staff at the school with a safe and supportive learning environment,” said Department of Education spokesperson Toya Holness. “We are dedicating additional resources to the school and have swift ly addressed these incidents.” Sketch released of suspect in Little Neck robbery BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @robbpoz Th e NYPD has released a sketch of the sneaky crook who smacked a woman in the head with a blunt object and robbed her in Little Neck last week — an incident that raised questions about whether it might be Photo via Google Maps/Insets courtesy of NYPD related to similar robberies that occurred elsewhere in Queens. Law enforcement sources said the robbery occurred at about 7:30 a.m. on April 2 in front of a home on Marathon Parkway near Beechknoll Avenue. According to authorities, the 60-year-old woman approached from behind by the suspect — described as a black man standing 6 feet tall — who exited from a nearby vehicle. According to a wanted poster on the 111th Precinct‘s Twitter account, the suspect frequents areas of the precinct and the 112th Precinct, which is based in Forest Hills and is dealing with a pattern of similar robberies. Police said the perpetrator struck the woman in the head with an unidentifi ed object, then forcibly removed her purse, which contained just $15 in cash. Th e crook was observed re-entering the vehicle that fl ed the scene southbound on Marathon Parkway. Th e victim was treated at Long Island Jewish Medical Center for a head laceration. Both the 111th Precinct and 112th Precinct Twitter accounts shared last week wanted posters of the suspects involved in the April 2 incident and the Forest Hills robbery pattern. Anyone with information regarding any of the incidents is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit their website or send a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confi dential. Photo via Shutterstock Photo via Google Maps John Bowne High School in Flushing
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