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POLICE BLOTTER

By Tom Tracy

Celebrity cellblock This is something we couldn’t make up if we tried: while a one Eddie Murphy was arrested in Brooklyn Heights last week, a one James Brown was arrested in the same neighborhood this week. We’re sure that the 40-year-old suspect – not the deceased “king of soul” – wasn’t feeling very good after being thrown in the slammer for allegedly smuggling a coat out of the new IHOP (International House of Pancakes) on Livingston Street Monday. Officials allege that a worker at the restaurant left her coat in a private employee area on January 28. When she returned to the office a short time later, her coat was gone. She went out looking for it only to discover that James Brown had allegedly taken it. The thief was charged with criminal trespass, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Police said that on January 22, a man who identified himself as Eddie Murphy was charged with assault, menacing and criminal possession of marijuana following a brawl inside the Pacific Street subway station. Shot on Hoyt Cops are investigating a recent shooting on Hoyt Street. Investigators were told that the victim, 21, was nearing Butler Street at 12:45 a.m. on January 13 when he clashed with two males. One of the men pulled a gun and fired, hitting the victim in the stomach, officials said. Paramedics rushed him to Lutheran Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition after treatment. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Calls can be made to the 76th Precinct at (718) 834-3211. All calls will be kept confidential. Snagged from pocket A 12-year-old boy had his purple Sidekick plucked from his pocket as he walked past the corner of Douglass and Smith streets last week. The victim said that he and his friend were walking home from school just before 4 p.m. on January 18 when they were confronted by two males wearing bandannas. “Give me your kick,” one of the thieves demanded. When the victim refused, the two men took it out of his pocket and ran off, officials said. Party pooper A child’s birthday party ended in a shake down for a Queens woman who accidentally lost her purse on Atlantic Avenue recently. The victim, a bank teller, told police that she had taken her child to a party inside the Atlantic Center Mall, 625 Atlantic Avenue, on January 12. She said that she was putting her baby in a car seat when she forgot she had left her handbag on the sidewalk. Once she realized what she had done, she returned to Atlantic Avenue, but her bag had already been taken. The woman had chalked the entire ordeal up to a simple mistake when an unidentified man showed up at her home on January 24. The man said that he had her bag along with all of her personal information and credit card numbers. The stranger also knew where she worked and gave her a choice: either lose her identity and have her credit rating shattered or rob her own bank for him. The woman turned the tables on the blackmailer by reporting the visit to authorities. Cops from the 88th Precinct were investigating the report as this paper went to press. MTA menace A Metropolitan Transit Authority was attacked as he unlocked an exit gate to the Fulton Street station Wednesday, officials said. The victim, 36, said that he was removing the locks to the entrance to the corner of Hanson Place and South Oxford Street at 4:30 a.m. on January 23 when an unidentified Hispanic male tried to take his bag from him. The would-be mugger reportedly threw the victim down a flight of stairs during the ensuing struggle and ran off, officials said. The MTA worker suffered a bruise to his forehead and some back pain as a result of the fall. Steiner steal A photographer attending the filming of a hip hop video in Steiner Studios last week left the Washington Avenue location with one less piece of equipment, cops were told. Someone reportedly helped themselves to the 33-year-old’s $2200 MacBook laptop computer during the course of the shoot, which was filmed between 10:40 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. on January 25. Open invitation An unlocked apartment door in an Atlantic Avenue building was an open invite for a thief who made off with a woman’s handbag. The woman told police that when she entered her apartment, located near Clinton Street, on the afternoon of January 18, she left her handbag on a countertop near the door. A short time later, she heard a noise. When she went to investigate, she was confronted by a member of a construction crew working in the building that told her that she had left her keys in the lock. But the warning was too late: her bag was already gone, she told police. Cops were investigating the woman’s claims as this paper went to press. Laptop plucker A 63-year-old Warren Street woman told police that a thief stole her laptop computer after he snaked his arm through the window to her ground level apartment. The woman, who lives near Fourth Avenue, said that someone forced open her window between 9 and 9:30 p.m. on January 15. The stolen laptop computer was within arm’s reach, the woman said. Wipe out graffiti As the ongoing war against graffiti continues, a $500 reward is being offered to anyone with information about graffiti vandals in their neighborhoods. 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. Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism is urged to contact either 311 or 911. Five on one A 30-year-old man was beaten and robbed during a confrontation with five thugs on Grand Avenue, cops from the 88th Precinct were told. The victim said that he was nearing Clifton Place at 6:45 p.m. on January 22 when the unidentified suspects surrounded him. The thieves punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground before running off with his wallet and iPod. Cops were still searching for the thieves as this paper went to press.