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By Matthew Perlman
Brooklyn Daily
84th Precinct
Brooklyn Heights–DUMBO–Boerum Hill–Downtown
Cat burgler
A thief with weird taste broke into a Fourth Avenue apartment during the night of July 31 and stole a man’s cat and 10 pairs of shorts, cops said.
The 50-year-old victim told police he locked up the apartment between Bergen and Dean streets before going out to eat at 10:30 pm, but when he returned at 1:39 am the next day the door was open. His black-and-white cat and 10 pairs of shorts were the only things missing, according to a police report.
The victim told cops his ex-girlfriend has a set of keys and he suspects she may have committed the burglary, but the front door of the apartment building was broken, the report says.
Construction confrontation
Authorities are looking for a 35-year-old construction worker who allegedly assaulted a co-worker with a welding torch at a Schermerhorn Street construction site on July 30, police said.
The 20-year-old victim told cops he was working with the suspect at the construction site between Nevins Street and Third Avenue at 5:25 pm when the suspect allegedly intentionally ripped the pants of the younger man. He responded by returning the favor, ripping the suspect’s pants, according to a police report.
At that point the suspect started hitting the victim with a hot welding torch in the head and left shoulder, before taking off, the report says.
Break in broken up
Cops cuffed a 31-year-old man who they said attempted to break into a car parked on Schermerhorn Street on July 28, and then threatened the owner with a razor blade when he tried to stop him, authorities said.
The 36-year-old car owner told police he approached his vehicle, which he had parked on the corner of Smith Street at 9 am and saw a man rummaging through it. He told the guy to stop, and the suspected burglar punched him in the neck and pulled out a razor blade, according to a police report.
Then the guy said, “If you don’t get out of here I’m going to stab you,” the report says. Cops showed up and cuffed the suspect.
Peeper creeper
Someone stole a pair of $2,000 glasses from an optics outlet on Livingston Street on July 28, according to a police report.
Workers in the store between Nevins and Bond streets said a guy came in at 5:15 pm and started checking out the pricey pair of lenses. When the worker turned around to adjust some merchandise the guy took off with the peepers, police said.
The glasses were a pair of rimless wood temple Cartiers, cops said.
Taking from teacher
A ne’re-do-well stole a credit card and cellphone from a teacher’s desk on July 23, inside a school on Flatbush Avenue Extension, cops said.
The 29-year-old teacher told police she was working in the school between Bridge and Tillary streets and went to use the bathroom at 8:55 am.
When she returned, the items were gone, police said. The thief used the credit card to charge $252 before the victim could cancel it, cops said.
Desktop theft
A sneak snatched a laptop off of a desk in a Dean Street office on July 30, cops said.
An office worker told police she was working in the building between Third and Fourth avenues at 10 am, and left the computer on her desk when she walked away.
When she returned an hour later, the laptop was gone, police said. The office is on the first floor of the building, and the front door is open to the public, according to a police report.
Unattended camera taken
An opportunist grabbed a bag full of camera equipment that the owner left unattended in a coffee shop on Montague Street on July 26, police said.
The unfortunate 20-year-old photographer told cops she was in the restaurant between Henry and Clinton streets at 9:20 pm and left her camera bag on the floor by her seat. She realized it was missing two hours later and returned to retrieve the bag, but it was gone, according to a police report.
The bag contained a Nikon camera, five lenses, and other accessories, the report says.
Shopper lifted
Someone stole the wallet from a woman’s purse while she shopped in a Fulton Street department store on July 30, authorities said.
The 66-year-old shopper told police she was in the store between Flatbush Avenue and Hanover Place at 4:30 pm when someone bumped into her, which made her check her backpack.
She found the backpack open and the wallet gone, police said. The bag contained $190 in cash, debit, and credit cards.
Shot fired
Cops are looking for a gunman who shot a man in the leg on Sands Street on July 31, authorities said.
The 28-year-old victim told police he was just standing on the sidewalk between Gold and Navy streets at 1:09 am when he felt a sharp pain in his right leg and collapsed to the ground. He realized he had been shot and called authorities who rushed him to Bellevue Hospital, according to a police report. He told cops he did not see who shot him or anyone fleeing the scene.
Cruel crooks
A couple of punks picked the pocket of a 71-year-old man on a Manhattan-bound A train on July 31.
The victim told police the train was near the Jay Street-MetroTech subway station at Willoughby and Jay streets at 9:30 am when two men came over and bumped into him, taking his wallet in the process.
The wallet contained $425 in cash, debit and credit cards, and a senior citizen’s MetroCard, cops said.
Petty cash
A burglar broke into a State Street commercial building on Aug. 1, stealing $110 in cash, cops said.
The business owner told cops no one was present in the office between Court and Clinton streets from 1 pm until 5:30 pm. When he entered the office he found the front door forced open and the cash gone, according to police.
Bicycle thief
Someone snatched a locked bike from Livingston Street on Aug. 2, while the bike’s owner shopped in a furniture store, according to authorities.
The 30-year-old cyclist told police she locked up her Surly bike with a Kryponite U-lock between Hoyt and Bond streets at 2:30 pm. She went in a store to do some shopping, and when she returned a half hour later the bike was gone, cops said.
— Matthew Perlman