Police Beat

Ripped off the cords

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Managers of at least one local Verizon store are probably considering better ways to secure their display phones after what happened recently along a sleepy strip of North Riverdale.

A manager at the Verizon store at 5909 Riverdale Ave., told police he was at his desk on the phone with a customer when three young fellows walked into the store just before 7 p.m., on Jan. 16, and started checking out the phones on display. 

No more than a few seconds had passed when each of them swiftly snatched a phone, yanking it free of the alarm cord, dashing out the door toward West 259th Street, cops said. They were described as around 17, wearing blue jackets and multicolored sneakers.

As for the phones, one was an iPhone 8 Plus, valued by police at $810. Another was a Samsung Galaxy S8-Plus, valued at $990. And the third was a Samsung Galaxy Note8, valued at $870.

And the phones weren’t just for show — each one worked perfectly well, according to the store manager.

But the phone-snagging trio may not be enjoying their loot for long, because thanks to cameras in the store, cops said they got a decent look at the perps.

The grand larceny case is still open.


On the waterfront, slicing rubber

Someone was up to no good, slashing tires at a spot just north of the Jerome Park Reservoir.

After parking his car on the corner of Hillman and Sedgwick avenues around 8 p.m. on Jan. 17, a 43-year old man told cops he came back the next morning only to find someone had slit open both passenger-side tires and the rear driver’s-side tire of his red 2006 Nissan Armada four-door sedan.

Police valued the damage at more than $250, but couldn’t give an exact figure.

Unfortunately for the man and his tires, cops said there were no cameras, no leads — nothing to help them track down the mystery slashers.

Police reported no further damage to the vehicle, and this case of criminal mischief is now closed.

 

Not caring for automobiles

One Ricky’s Automobile Care customer probably is not happy after what happened to her car.

The 65-year-old woman told cops she’d dropped off her white 2005 Infiniti FX, valued by police at $5,500, for repairs at Ricky’s, 5914 Riverdale Ave., a little before lunchtime Jan. 16.

But the owner of the shop may have had his mind more on lunch than on business, because police say he left the keys in the luxury vehicle.

Somebody didn’t take long to figure that out, finding the free ride on the lot, getting in and driving off. Security footage shows them making a left onto Riverdale Avenue and heading south, but there were no witnesses, police said, and the video doesn’t show an image of the perps, while canvasses of the area produced negative results.

Highway cameras, however, caught the Infiniti cruising along the Henry Hudson Bridge to Manhattan, cops said.

There’s a bulletin out for the vehicle, police said, but this report of grand larceny auto is closed.

Police Beat, Zak Kostro