By Thomas Tracy
ATTACK OF THE MOLE MEN: An ambitious group of thieves are being sought for burrowing a hole into a local automotive store, helping themselves to an assortment of car speakers, CD and DVD players, radios and GPS systems, officials said. Workers at Bay Ridge Auto Trend, located at 654 65th Street, were called to the store on the night of January 21 after their alarm company informed them that the motion alarm inside the store had been triggered. When the employees arrived, they found a large hole dug through the back wall. Their supply of speakers and other electronics were gone, officials said. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 68th Precinct at (718) 439-4211. All calls will be kept confidential. *** ROBBED OF WALLET: Police are investigating a wallet snatching on Dahlgreen Place. A woman told police last week that she was walking past 77 Dahlgreen Place at 8:45 a.m. on January 22 when a fleet-footed fiend snatched the wallet from her hands and ran to an awaiting car. The woman, police said, was not harmed. She was unable to get a good description of the mugger. Police said that there was about $120 and seven credit cards in the wallet when it was taken. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 68th Precinct at (718) 439-4211. All calls will be kept confidential. *** AIRBAGS TAKEN: Thieves broke into a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder parked on the 1100 block of 79th Street last week, taking the driver’s and passenger’s side air bags, officials said. Police said that the vehicle was parked on the block at 6 p.m. on January 18. When the owner returned at 7:40 p.m. the following day, she discovered that the back passenger side window was broken. Whoever broke the window wiggled inside to pop the doors and then removed the air bags, which cost over $1,000 apiece, officials said. Police are investigating. *** RETURNS HOME TO FIND DOOR KICKED IN: A 5th Avenue man returned to his apartment near 71st Street Wednesday to find that thieves had kicked in his door, police from the 68th Precinct said. The victim said that he left his building at 2:45 a.m. on January 18. When he returned the following morning around 11, the damage had already been done. The only thing missing, however, was some miscellaneous tools, police said. Cops are investigating. *** JEWELRY TAKEN FROM HOME: A 39-year-old woman told police that someone broke into her 65th Street home last week, taking $500 and an assortment of jewelry. Police estimate that the thief entered by cutting a screen to a back window sometime after 2 p.m. on January 14. The thief took the items, ran out the back door and hopped a fence, heading for the train lines nearby, officials said. Cops are investigating. *** SHOOTING INVESTIGATED: Police are widening their net for the person responsible for shooting a 27-year-old man in nearby Sunset Park. Police said that Kenny Wong, 27, was found lying in the street in front of 733 53rd Street, bleeding from a chest wound. The shooting, police believe, took place sometime before 9:30 p.m. on January 9. Wong was taken to Lutheran Medical Center where he finally succumbed to his injuries on January 12. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this shooting to call the 72nd Precinct at (718) 965-6311 or the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. *** COPS: HELP CLEAN UP GRAFFITI WHILE EARNING SOME GREEN: As the ongoing war against graffiti vandals continues, cops are now offering up to $500 in reward money to anyone who can offer them information that can lead them to anyone who commits graffiti vandalism. The hefty reward is part of the city’s new push to rid New York of graffiti vandals. Graffiti is one of the leading quality of life complaints brought to police. Officials said that cleaning up graffiti is essential to the plan, to show that the community is no longer going to tolerate marred and tagged-up walls and street corners. According to police there is a perception that if a community will tolerate graffiti, they will tolerate other criminal activities, such as drug dealing and prostitution. Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism is urged to contact either 311 or 911. *** STABBING VICTIM TAKES RIDE TO CONEY ISLAND: Cops were called to the Stillwell Avenue train station early Monday morning after an unidentified stabbing victim was found in one of the trains heading to the yard. Officials said that the man was found just before 5 a.m. with several deep stab wounds to the chest. He was rushed to Coney Island Hospital where he died of his injuries. Police said that they do not know exactly where the victim was stabbed or why. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to come forward. Tipsters could receive up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the one responsible for this killing. Calls can be made to either the 60th Precinct at (718) 946-3311 or the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. *** DELIVERY MAN SLASHED DURING ROBBERY: A 33-year-old delivery man was beaten and slashed by two thugs after he made a drop-off on West 5th Street in Gravesend, cops from the 62nd Precinct were told. Police said that the victim was exiting the address, located on the 1700 block of West 5th Street, at 10 p.m. on January 21 when a black male and a Hispanic male approached him. One of the two men asked for a cigarette, police said. When the victim reached into his pocket to get one, he was knocked to the ground. As one of the suspects punched him, the other slashed his arm with a small knife, officials said. The thieves robbed the 33-year-old of $60 and ran off, leaving the victim with a painful reminder of the night’s events. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential.
