By Thomas Tracy
MAN ARRRESTED FOR ATTACKING GIRLFRIEND: A 24-year-old man was taken into custody last week for allegedly beating and then choking his girlfriend during a spat in Ditmas Park.Officials alleged that Shaq Hokue was arguing with his 26-year-old girlfriend inside his home, located near the corner of Newkirk Avenue and Argyle Road at 6:30 p.m. on February 13, when he allegedly struck her in the head, stomach, chest and back.He also choked and threatened to kill her with a pair of scissors, officials alleged.Area police, who were called to the scene by a witness, arrested Hokue on charges of assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.***THROWING IT ALL THE WAY: A 23-year-old man was taken into custody last week when he was allegedly spotted ditching a gun at the corner of East 23rd Street and Avenue D.Officials said that Anti Crime Officer Joe Longardino was patrolling the area at 3 p.m. on February 9 when he spotted John Roberts.When Roberts spotted the officer, he ran off, throwing away a loaded .380 in the process, police alleged.Cops grabbed Roberts and the gun and charged the man with criminal possession of a weapon.***NOT KNOWING WHEN TO QUIT: Two men on parole were re-arrested last week after cops paid them an unscheduled visit Friday.Police said that members of the 70th Precinct Special Ops Team were conducting a “parole sweep” in Flatbush on February 9, during which they allegedly found one parolee with a gun and some marijuana and another with a crossbow.Officials said that Kellon Quamina of the 2650 block of Bedford Avenue near Foster Avenue was charged with criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of marijuana.Jermel McCallister of the 550 block of Ocean Avenue was also arrested with criminal possession of a weapon when cops found the crossbow.During their sweep, seven other parolees were summonsed for violating their curfew.Officials said that police routinely visit known parolees in the area to make sure that they are abiding by the conditions of their release, as well as ensure that they are not involved in any criminal activities.***COPS INVESTIGATE RAPE: With no suspect in sight, cops are re-doubling their efforts to investigate a 13-year-old girl’s claims that she was raped by a dollar van driver and then dropped off outside of Roy H. Mann Junior High School last week.Investigators from the 63rd Precinct said that they have no updates regarding the attack, which took place at about 7:30 a.m. on February 6. The case is currently being investigated by members of Brooklyn South’s Special Victims Unit.The victim told police that she was on her way to school when she opted to jump into a dollar van on Empire Boulevard between Utica and Flatbush avenues.The suspect reportedly took the girl to a spot near the corner of East 55th Street and Flatlands Avenue, where he allegedly forced the teen to have sex with him.After raping her, the van driver drove the girl to Roy H. Mann on East 68th Street — her school – where she reported the incident to authorities.Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward.Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.***WOMAN CONNED OUT OF CASH: A Flatbush resident told police that she was bilked out of $1,000 after being ensnared by a couple of con artists in the notoriously effective “found money” scam.The woman claimed that she was passing the corner of Church Avenue and East 17th Street on the morning of January 23 when a complete stranger stopped her, claiming that he had just found an envelope filled with money.The stranger offered to share the money with her if she put up $1,000 as a show of “good faith.”The police were told that the stranger was joined by another woman. Both of them worked on the victim until she agreed to give them the $100 that was in her pocketbook, as well as take them to another bank, where she withdrew the other $900.After taking the money, the suspects convinced the woman to wait at a nearby jewelry store to receive her half of the found loot, but the con artists never re-appeared. They and another male were last seen fleeing Church Avenue in a beige automobile.Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward.Calls can be made to the 70th Precinct at (718) 851-5511. 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.***HE WAS QUICK WITH A KNIFE: An 18-year-old man has been connected to a Coney Island bar brawl where four people were stabbed.Officials said that Rodney Solomon of the 3000 block of East 29th Street was charged with attempted murder, assault and attempted robbery for the attack, which took place inside the West 19th Street watering hole just before 2:30 a.m. on February 11.Witnesses alleged that Solomon was in the bar when he began arguing with a group of males.During the ensuing fight, two men, ages 18 and 22, were stabbed in the chest. A third man was stabbed in the stomach. The last victim suffered a stab wound to the shoulder.Officials said that three of the victims were rushed to Lutheran Medical Center, where the 18-year-old was listed in critical condition. The other two victims were stable.The fourth victim reportedly brought himself to Coney Island Hospital, looking for treatment.Solomon was taken into custody a few hours after the attack.As of this writing, it was unclear if he had an accomplice during his alleged knife-wielding rampage.***WOKEN UP IN A NICK OF TIME: Cops are investigating a woman’s claim that she was nearly raped by a cab driver taking her through Sheepshead Bay.The victim, 25, told police that she grabbed the cab in Bay Ridge after partying in a neighborhood night club at 3 a.m. on February 12.On the ride home, the woman fell asleep, police were told.She woke up to realize that the cab was parked on the 3100 block of Harkness Avenue. The cabbie was in the back seat with her, trying to get her pants off, officials allege.The victim screamed and the cabbie, who was not identified, jumped back behind the wheel, taking her the rest of the way home.Cops are investigating the woman’s claims.***TWO NABBED FOR PURSE SNATCH: Two teenagers have been arrested for allegedly robbing a 28-year-old woman of her purse in Bensonhurst Sunday.Police from the 62nd Precinct said that the victim was passing the corner of 81st Street and New Utrecht Avenue at 12:15 a.m. on February 12 when the suspects allegedly knocked her to the ground.The thieves allegedly kicked the woman in the stomach and ran off with her pocketbook, only to be apprehended later by responding officers.Taken into custody were 18-year-old Ruben Quincy of the 280 block of Corzine Avenue and 17-year-old Volmar Frantz of the 600 block of Louisiana Avenue. Both were charged with robbery, menacing and harassment.Police said that a third, unnamed suspect was arrested with the two men, although prosecutors have not lodged any charges against him.***IT’S TOUGH TRYING TO TRACK DOWN A GPS SYSTEM: A Sheepshead Bay skipper told police that someone broke into his boat last week, taking several expensive pieces of GPS tracking equipment.The 46-year-old victim said that someone broke into his ship, the Blue Sea, as it was berthed on a dock off of the 2200 block of Emmons Avenue.The break-in took place sometime after 7:30 p.m. on February 10 and the following morning.The thief, officials said, entered the boat after breaking a window.Police are investigating.***BEATEN WITH TIRE IRON: A 21-year-old man was struck in the head with a tire iron as he fought off two thugs in Sheepshead Bay, according to officials.The victim told police that he was on the 2100 block of Avenue X just after 11 a.m. on February 12 when the two suspects, described as a white male and a Hispanic male in their twenties, jumped him.The suspects attacked the suspects and were last seen running off down East 22nd Street, officials said.Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this attack to come forward.Calls can be made to the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential.***ARREST MADE IN HOME INVASION: Police have arrested two men for a home invasion in Bensonhurst.Officials said that 19-year-old Anthony Colon of the 1900 block of 61st Street and 18-year-old Christopher Dohn of the 1800 block of 63rd Street were charged with robbery, burglary, criminal trespass, grand larceny and criminal possession of a weapon after they allegedly forced their way into a home near the corner of 64th Street and 20th Avenue at 6:15 p.m. on February 11.Police from the 62nd Precinct said that the two suspects and two accomplices allegedly pushed their way into the home, pulling a knife on the 47-year-old man inside.Two of the suspects held the victim down while their accomplices could rob him of $200 in cash and his gold chain, police alleged.As of this writing, police were looking for the two witnesses.***CAUGHT DRUNK DRIVING THROUGH MANHATTAN BEACH: A 24-year-old man was arrested last week for driving while intoxicated down Oriental Boulevard near Amherst Street, officials allege.Police said that Yokelvin Tineo-Henriquez of the 300 block of Putnam Street was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol after being pulled over at 6:30 a.m. on February 11.Cops pulled Henriquez over for having a defective headlight.But, when they confronted the 24-year-old, he appeared drunk, police alleged. Cops could smell the alcohol on his breath, officials allege.***THUGS SOUGHT FOR BATH AVE. ROBBERY: A group of thugs brutally beat a 41-year-old man as he made his way to his car parked near the corner of Bath Avenue and Bay 14th Street last week, officials said.The thieves, described as white males in their twenties, surrounded the victim just after midnight on February 2 and demanded his money.When he refused, the suspects punched the victim in the face – knocking him to the ground – and then proceeded to punch and kick him relentlessly until one of the suspects pulled $800 from the victim’s pants pocket.Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this robbery to come forward.Calls can be made to the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential.***IT WASN’T MR. SANDMAN: A 79-year-old woman was woken up Saturday by a burglar asking her where she kept her pocketbook, cops from the 61st Precinct said.As of this writing, cops were still looking for the man who broke into the victim’s home, located on the 3200 block of Emmons Avenue just moments before 6:20 a.m. on February 4.The victim said that she was asleep when the suspect woke her up, demanded to know where she kept her purse and ran off with it.Police believe that the victim entered the home by cutting through a screened-in window.The thief grabbed the woman’s purse, which contained $50 at the time, and fled the home through the same window, officials said.Police are investigating.***STITCHES FOR WOMAN IN PURSE SNATCH: A 54-year-old woman needed four stitches to close a deep gash she suffered on her elbow after a thug made off with her purse on East 2nd Street in Sheepshead Bay, officials said.Police are currently looking for the thief, who was described as a white male in his early 20s.The victim said that she was on East 2nd Street between Avenues X and Y at 9 p.m. on February 6 when the unidentified thief shoved her to the ground.Once the woman hit the concrete, the suspect scooped up her handbag and ran off toward Avenue Y.Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call police.Calls can be made to the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential.***
