Police Beat

Chance meeting ends as knifepoint robbery

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What could’ve been a cocktail with a new friend instead turned into a possibly terrifying ordeal.

A 54-year-old told cops he was ambling along drunk near the 2700 block of Kingsbridge Terrace with a person he’d just met on the train very early that morning, Nov. 19.

The plan was to head to the man’s home and have a drink together, police said.

Instead, the new companion flashed a blade before grabbing the guy’s wallet, making off with around $140 cash and his ID, fleeing east on Kingsbridge Terrace.

Details on the perp’s appearance are totally sketchy, according to a report, but police are investigating the robbery

Kia can’t keep out the crooks

While some residents probably were passed out in food comas or tucking into second plates of turkey, at least one thief was still hungry — for crime.

A 50-year-old told police he parked his 2017 Kia Sorento on the 3800 block of Hudson Manor Terrace in Riverdale around suppertime on Thanksgiving. He returned the following morning a little before 10:30 to find someone had smashed one of the windows to get to a couple computers he’d left lying around inside, along with locks valued at $400.

One of the computers, described by police as a programmer’s computer, was worth around $2,000. No value was reported for the second.

Police are looking into the grand larceny.

Propped up Honda misses rims, tires

The steady disappearance of rims and tires in Kingsbridge and Riverdale seems almost as inevitable as the passage of time.

A 56-year-old told police his son parked his Honda Accord on Johnson Avenue and West 232nd Street just north of Ewen Park around 11 p.m., Nov. 27, returning the following morning around 5 to find it propped up on a cement bucket — all four tires and rims missing.

Police valued the Michelin tires at around $800, while the Honda rims are worth around $600.

Absence of security cameras in the area only makes netting a perp more of a mystery, but police are investigating the grand larceny.

Moped rider is robbed at gunpoint

A man on a moped reportedly ran into a small cadre of roughnecks harboring sinister intentions.

The 28-year-old told police he was cruising on the lightweight vehicle on the 3200 block of Kingsbridge Avenue — incidentally, not far from the 50th Precinct — sometime around 4 a.m., Dec. 7. It was there four men police described as also in their 20s — one allegedly brandishing a gun, another a knife — stopped him, pummeling him about the face, taking not just his moped, but also his cell phone, wallet, ID and credit cards, before running off to parts unknown.

Police didn’t say quite how bad the driver’s wounds were, but valued his moped at $1,500, and his phone at $150. His wallet contained no cash.

The man reportedly trudged into the 5-0 following the robbery, which police are investigating.

Steaks and thievery in Vannie eatery

A steakhouse hostess reportedly took her eye off her bag just long enough for a stealthy crook to whisk it away.

The 24-year-old guest greeter told cops she was working a shift at the Van Cortlandt Park-facing Jake’s Steakhouse at 6301 Broadway when she left her bag on a chair by the bar while on the phone with a customer. She realized it vanished around the start of dinnertime Dec. 3.

Not just the bag, but also her wallet, credit card, driver’s license, health insurance card and $200 cash inside were taken, according to the report.

Security camera footage could help police find the bag snatcher as they look into the grand larceny.

No big bucks in glove compartment

At least one thief reportedly made a mess of a woman’s glove compartment, which luckily for her had little to loot.

The 32-year-old driver of a 2015 Honda Sedan told police she parked it in her driveway — possibly forgetting to lock the doors — on the 5800 block of Fieldston Road around suppertime Dec. 7, returning the next day around lunchtime to find someone had rifled through the glove compartment scattering its contents on the driver’s seat.

The only thing missing, however, was about $5 in loose change, according to a report.

Case closed, cops said, nothing more than petty larceny from a vehicle.

Mazda mysteriously roughed up overnight

A woman who left her car in a vacancy-pocked Spuyten Duyvil shopping strip found out it wasn’t immune to mischievous wrongdoing.

The 66-year-old told cops she parked her 2018 Mazda in front of 15 Knolls Crescent around 8:15 p.m., Dec. 7, returning the following morning a little before 9 to find her rear passenger-side window smashed and side frame of the car damaged, although nothing was taken from inside.

Police valued the wreckage at less than $250, leaving this criminal mischief misdemeanor case closed.

Violent deli customer nabbed

A feisty fellow ordering odd-hour nosh apparently had no interest in paying for it, preferring instead to pick a fight.

A 53-year-old employee of the Bunny Deli at 228 W. 231st St., in Kingsbridge told cops a younger man ordered food at the establishment around 1 a.m., Dec. 1. When asked to pay, however, he flew into a rage and punched the employee in the mouth, causing injuries and pain, according to a report.

It’s not clear how bad the injuries were or whether the employee was taken to a hospital, police said, but they were there within minutes to arrest the 27-year-old attacker, who was charged with robbery.

Police Beat, Zak Kostro