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By Matthew Perlman
Brooklyn Daily
84th Precinct
Brooklyn Heights–DUMBO–Boerum Hill–Downtown
Find and bribe
Authorities arrested a 25-year-old man who they say snagged a cellphone someone dropped in a department store on Fulton Street on May 9 and tried to get the owner to pay him $150 to return it.
The phone’s owner told police he dropped it at 1 pm, while he was using the fitting room of the store between Gallatin Place and Hoyt Street. He could not find the phone, but he received an e-mail shortly later, saying someone had found the phone and wanted $150 to return it, cops said.
Bad boyfriend
A 24-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly beat up his girlfriend and took her phone on State Street on May 13.
Authorities said he was in his girlfriend’s apartment between Bond and Nevins streets at 1:30 am when she asked him to leave. The guy got angry, took her phone, and started to choke her, according to a police report.
After allegedly hitting her against the wall several times, he let her go and she called the police, the report says.
Violent ex
Cops are looking for an 18-year-old who they say viciously attacked his ex-girlfriend on a public sidewalk on May 15.
The 22-year-old victim told cops the young man followed her for a few blocks before chasing her down and shoving her to the ground near the corner of Fleet Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension at 7 pm. The perp then pushed her up against a wall and started choking, before head-butting her, and then taking off, according to a police report.
Break and take
An intruder broke into a man’s Wyckoff Street apartment on May 13 and stole his camera and some cash.
The victim said he left the apartment between Smith and Hoyt streets at 9 am, and when he came back at 8:53 that night, he found the lock on his front door broken. The burglar made off with $230 in cash, a digital camera, and a lens, cops said.
Funny money card
Police arrested a 24-year-old on May 13 after he tried to withdraw $2,000 using a fake visa card and fraudulent identification on Flatbush Avenue.
Cops said the scam artist entered a check cashing place between Schermerhorn and State streets at 11:11 pm. He tried to pass the fake card, and when cops responded they found two more bogus banking cards, according to a police report.
Subway steal
Someone swiped a 65-year-old out-of-towner’s wallet while he was on the 2 train on May 10.
The man said he was on a crowded 2 train at 6:45 pm, and was bumped several times. At the Clark Street station, near the intersection of Henry and Clark streets, the train emptied out and the man was able to get a seat, according to a police report.
Once he sat down, he noticed his wallet was missing, the report says. The victim told cops the wallet contained $120 in cash, plus his debit card.
Disorder in the court
Cops arrested a 50-year-old man after he flipped out in Kings County Civil Court on Livingston Street, injuring two court officers that tried to arrest him, on May 15.
The bad-tempered litigant was appearing in a courtroom between Smith Street and Boerum Place at 3:15 pm, according to a police report. The judge asked him to step back from the bench and the man became belligerent, yelling loudly, the report says.
A court officer tried to calm the man down, asking him to lower his voice and listen to the judge, cops said. When a second court officer attempted to lead the man out of the courtroom, he grabbed her wrist and started hitting her, according to cops. The two officers eventually got the guy in to custody, but both were injured in the process, police said.
Phone raid
A group of young men stole seven cellphones from a store on Montague Street on May 15.
An employee in the cellphone store, between Clinton and Henry streets, saw three men in their 20s enter the store at 6:35 pm, cops said. They grabbed the goods and took off running, heading down Montague Street towards Borough Hall.
Mean teen
Cops cuffed a 15-year-old who they say pushed a 63-year-old man down the stairs of a York Street on May 15, causing him to break his ankle.
The older man told cops he and the teen got into a verbal dispute inside their building in the Farragut Houses between Gold and Bridge streets at 8:15 pm. The teen gave the guy a shove, and he fell down four stairs breaking his left ankle, according to police.
— Matthew Perlman