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POLICE BLOTTER

By Tom Tracy

Hospitalized A 73-year-old woman was left clinging to life Wednesday after she was struck by a Honda Civic at the corner of Batchelder Street and Avenue V, officials said. Cops from the 61st Precinct said that the senior was passing the corner at 9 p.m. on December 26 when she was hit by the car. She was immediately rushed to Lutheran Medical Center where she was listed in critical condition after treatment. The driver, described only as a woman in her 20s, remained at the scene. No charges had been filed against the motorist as this paper went to press. Holiday scammers Four men were taken into custody last week on charges that they went through a Sheepshead Bay building pretending to be Con Edison employees so they could con hapless tenants to give over their utility bill information. Officials said that Bushwick resident Benjamin Coldman, 23, and three others from the Bronx and Manhattan allegedly entered the building, located on East 13th Street near Avenue Z, at about 7:30 p.m. on December 26 and began knocking on doors. Each time, they reportedly told the tenant that they were with Con Edison and that they needed personal information from the resident’s utility bills. If the tenant balked, the crew claimed that they would go to the basement and cut off their power, officials alleged. Once cops were called, the four men were taken into custody where they were charged with criminal impersonation and harassment. It wasn’t entirely clear what the suspects were using the utility bill information for as this paper went to press. Shoved and robbed A 43-year-old woman was shoved to the ground and robbed of her purse during a stand-off with a mugger on Brown Street near Voorhies Avenue, cops from the 61st Precinct said. The woman told police that she was passing the corner just after 9 p.m. on December 26 when the unidentified thief approached from behind and snagged the woman’s purse. When the woman refused to let go, the thief shoved the woman to the concrete, scooped up the bag and ran to an awaiting tan-colored van. No serious injuries were reported. Investigators were looking for the thief as this paper went to press. Brutal brother Cops are investigating a 25-year-old Gravesend man’s claims that his brother attacked him with a belt and shot him with a B.B. gun. The victim, a resident of Stryker Street, told police that he was arguing with his brother at 2 p.m. on December 20 when the attack took place. The victim said that he was lashed with a belt and then shot in the arm with a B.B. gun. Investigators were looking into the complaint as this paper went to press. Rushing along A 47-year-old motorist was arrested on reckless endangerment charges last week when he was spotted barreling through Sheepshead Bay in his brown Chrysler. Officials said that Frank Salerno, a resident of 47th Street in Sunset Park, was pulled over at the corner of Avenue W and Nostrand Avenue just after 11:30 p.m. on December 26 after he was allegedly seen blowing through a steady red light near the corner of Shore Parkway and Ocean Avenue. Authorities were also told that Salerno was allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed and nearly hit a group of people crossing Ocean Avenue. When he was ultimately taken into custody, he said that he was in a hurry. “I got to go to my sis,” he told the arresting officer, according to reports. A son’s retribution A young man attacked a worker at 99 Cent the Limit, 2845 Coney Island Avenue at Avenue Z recently after an employee mouthed off to the assailant’s mother, police alleged. Workers said that the young man’s mother had already confronted employees earlier in the day on December 21 when the son returned to continue the dispute. After fighting with employees, the suspect fled the store but quickly returned armed with a heavy bicycle lock. The teen swung the lock, striking one of the employees right above the eye, before running off to an awaiting sedan. The employee was taken to Lutheran Medical Center, where doctors treated him for a deep gash over his eye. Assaulted on bus A 15-year-old Gerritsen Beach resident suffered a fractured cheek following an assault on a city bus rumbled through Manhattan Beach recently. Officials said that the teen was attacked by a 16-year-old assailant – a Carroll Gardens resident who was apprehended the next day, officials said. The victim told police that the bus was passing the corner of West End Avenue and Oriental Boulevard at 3 p.m. on December 21 when Marvin Jean Francois allegedly attacked him. Francois allegedly struck the victim in the cheek, leaving him with multiple fractures, officials said. The victim took himself to Coney Island Hospital and was listed in stable condition after treatment. Cops charged the alleged 16-year-old attacker with assault. High priced holiday heist Over $3,000 in cash as well as three laptop computers and a brand new video game system were removed from a Sheepshead Bay home on the night before Christmas, officials said this week. The homeowner, a resident of East 23rd Street near Avenue V, told police that he left his home at 6:30 p.m. on December 24. He returned just before 1 a.m. the following morning to discover that someone had forced open his side door to get inside. The cash, computer and a Wii system were missing, officials said. Cops were investigating the break-in as this paper went to press. Electronics taken A thief crept into a Bensonhurst home recently, taking thousands of dollars in electronics, cops from the 62nd Precinct said. The victim, 30, said that he left his 80th Street home near 17th Avenue at 6:45 a.m. on December 20 to visit his parents. He returned a few hours later to discover that someone had come inside and emptied his home of pricey computers and other items. While there was no sign of forced entry, the victim admitted that he couldn’t be entirely sure that the front door was locked when he left. Seeing clearly Police are on the hunt of a thief who took 45 pairs of eyeglasses from an optometrist on 86th Street near 18th Avenue. Workers at Intermed Optical said that someone shattered the front glass door to the store at 12:30 a.m. on December 18 to get inside. When employees ultimately arrived, they discovered that someone had removed the glasses that were on display. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Calls can be made to the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential. Popped during mugging A 25-year-old woman was punched in the face Thursday after she tried to chase down a thief who had just escaped with her wallet. The victim told police that she was walking down West 6th Street near 65th Street in Gravesend at 3:10 a.m. on December 20 when the thief, described only as a dark-skinned male, snagged her wallet right out of her hand. The woman chased the thief to an awaiting double-parked car when the thug turned and punched her, stopping the woman in her tracks. The thief jumped into the car and sped off, officials said. No serious injuries were reported. Robbed of phone Two black males are being sought for robbing a young woman of her cell phone at the corner of 20th Avenue and 62nd Street, officials from the 62nd Precinct said. The victim told police that she was walking home from school at 4 p.m. on December 20 when the two thieves grabbed her from behind and swiped her cell phone. Cops were looking for the thieves as this paper went to press. Gunman search Cops converged on Ocean Parkway near Avenue P Saturday morning in search of a man who gunned down a 19-year-old, officials said. Police said that a group of males were arguing outside of 1640 Ocean Parkway just before 3:30 a.m. on December 29 when Allen Tahiray, a resident of West 5th Street, was shot in the stomach. Friends took Tahiray to Kings County Hospital, where he died of his injuries. Witnesses said that in the confusion that followed, the gunman ran into 1640 Ocean Parkway to hide. Responding officers raided the building, but, following an exhaustive search that ended at noon Saturday, no one was in custody. Officials said that cops narrowed the gunman’s escape route to one apartment. Armed with cameras and high tech equipment, they drilled into the apartment to see if they could spot the suspect. Cops ultimately raided the apartment, finding only a pit bull and a bird in a cage, according to published reports. Witnesses said that Tahiray and his friends were arguing over “territory” when the shooting took place. Sources, however, said that the shooting was drug related. At least one report said that Tahiray had grabbed the gunman’s pistol when it went off. As this paper was going to press, the gunman was still at large. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. Beaten for bag A woman was punched in the face twice as a thief made off with her handbag on East 15th Street near Avenue R, officials said. Police said that the victim was walking down the block at 4:40 a.m. on December 22 when the unidentified thief crept up from behind her and attacked. Without saying a word, the thief punched the victim in the face, grabbed hold of her bag – which contained $500 in cash, a cell phone and a digital camera – and ran off. No serious injuries were reported. Christmas kicker A real-live Grinch was taken into custody last week after he was caught breaking into an Ocean Avenue apartment on Christmas Day, police alleged. Officials from the 61st Precinct said that Konstatin Khoutkine, 44, a resident of Ocean Parkway near Avenue P, was charged with criminal mischief and criminal trespass at 12:13 p.m. on December 25 when he was allegedly seen kicking in the third-floor apartment of a building located near Avenue U, damaging the window and the window frame in the process. Christmas round up About five thieves were arrested last week after they were caught allegedly rifling through cars on East 24th Street between Avenues M and N Christmas night. Cops from the 70th Precinct said that members of the local Shomrim patrol were credited with the apprehension, which took place at about 11 p.m. on December 25. Officials said that after hearing a report that cars were getting looted on the block, Shomrim members cordoned off the street, preventing the suspects’ escape. They then contacted the 70th Precinct, who swooped in and took the unidentified thieves into custody. The thieves were charged with grand larceny and petit larceny.