Teen thief goes on new spree

1. In the photograph, William Muller, 16, appears lost in thought. His blond hair hangs by the sides of his face. One of his arms leans on the polished wood of the bar at Blackstone Bar & Grill at 3713 Riverdale Ave.

But when your eyes follow his second arm down inside bartender Lorena Pecora’s purse, William’s crime could not be more clear.

The image, retrieved from Blackstone’s surveillance camera, circulated among staff and managers at local businesses this week, after William was identified and confronted on Feb. 27 by both a Blackstone manager and a friend of Ms. Pecora, the bartender.

Ms. Pecora said earlier that week, on Feb. 24, William visited the establishment while she was off her afternoon shift. After William left Blackstone, Ms. Pecora said she noticed a slightly larger opening in the front pocket of her black leather purse. When she inspected the purse, she noticed her Marlboro Lights had been pilfered, though the thief had missed the cash that was placed beside it.

After another business owner shared an image of William with the Blackstone staff later that week, William returned on Feb. 27. Ms. Pecora, returning from Blackstone’s basement, saw him seated next to her purse and identified him immediately.

A source confirmed that Blackstone has the same high-quality video surveillance system as the Yo-Burger restaurant across the street at 3726 Riverdale Ave., where William committed a petit larceny on Jan. 30. Police used that video to identify William and link him with three other larcenies committed at the Starbucks located at 3503 Johnson Ave. William was arraigned on those charges on Feb. 4, and is suspected of at least two similar incidents reaching back to December.

Ms. Pecora said that police responded to the scene after William was identified. When reached for comment, police said they did not write a report for the incident.

“I think he’s really good,” Deputy Inspector Paul Rasa of the 50th Precinct said while discussing the thief’s previous streak of larcenies at a public community meeting. “For a 16-year-old, he’s very close to the level of a 40-year-old who’s been doing this sort of thing for years.

“I saw him and I spoke to him,” Mr. Rasa continued at the meeting. “He said he was just trying to buy some nice things for his girlfriend.”

The new crimes after William’s first string of offenses have some people, including Ms. Pecora, seeking alternative explanations.

“For some people, stealing can be addiction,” she said.

She added that she questioned whether William’s stealing habit came about from situations in his family life or at school. He is a student at the David A. Stein Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy (M.S./H.S. 141).

2. ‘Spooky’ caught in the act

Police said an 18-year-old was caught in the act, perched on multi-colored sneakers before a wall at the intersection of West 262nd Street and Broadway, shaking a can of white spray paint.

After authorities booked the man on Feb. 28, they conducted a search and matched his tag, “Spooky,” to three other sites hit nearby: West 254th and Broadway, 6355 Broadway and 6655 Broadway. Police said the consequences of the criminal mischief will be calculated based on the costs of removing or replacing the damaged property. Damage over $250 is a felony.

Police said it was the 18-year-old’s first arrest, but that witnesses they had talked to had been trying to catch the ghostly graffiti artist for some time now.

3. Grand larceny auto

A black 2014 Jeep Cherokee, valued at $40,000 disappeared from a parking space in front of 3606 Irwin Ave. between 3 p.m. Feb. 28 and 9:30 a.m. March 1, according to police.

When they responded to the scene, the 49-year-old owner of the vehicle could give them no leads. She said that in addition to the Cherokee, she had misplaced the vehicle’s key.

Police could find no broken glass where the vehicle had been parked on Irwin Ave. They closed the investigation after placing the car on an interstate stolen vehicles registry.

4. Assault on Broadway

Police said a drunken brawl between acquaintances in front of the Land and Sea Restaurant at 5535 Broadway took a violent turn at 6:35 a.m. on Feb. 23, when one of the men took to his heels. The other man chased the 22-year-old, beating him with glass bottles and stabbing him with an unidentified object, as a 47-year-old witness reported to police.

When police arrived on the scene, the drunk and wounded 22-year-old was non-compliant. He refused to tell police what had happened to him or be taken to the emergency room.

The case remains open to detectives.

5. Beer stolen

Authorities said some time between 3:30 and 4 p.m. on Feb. 27, beer bandits scored 10 cases of Corona from a delivery truck parked at 2810 Bailey Ave. The 38-year-old truck driver reported the value of the stolen beer at $300.

The case remains open to detectives, though police confirmed that they “suspect the beer is all gone by now.”

Items in Police Beat are based on reports of crimes and arrests. Those arrested are not guilty unless a court convicts them. Police Beat does not include every crime in our coverage area.