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November 20 - December 3, 2013 the briefcase had been swiped by an unknown thief.
Crime of the Century
seAPort vendor AssAulted
Police arrested Same Hing, 48, after she allegedly attacked a street vendor near the South Street Seaport. The vendor, 50, told cops that Hing has a history of annoying him while he’s tending his food cart on Water St., between John and Fulton Sts., and said that she shows up practically every day to curse and yell at him. Hing, according to police, walked up to the vendor when he was stocking his cart around 5 a.m. on Nov. 14, then pushed him and picked up one of his milk crates and began beating him with it, leaving the man with a cut on his arm. Hing fled west on Fulton St. after the alleged attack, but the vendor reported the incident immediately and the suspect was caught shortly afterwards when police canvassed the area. She was charged with assault and harassment.
CAr BreAk-in nets 25k
A Long Island woman learned a lesson the hard way on Nov. 17, when an opportunistic thief stole nearly $25,000 worth of jewelry from her parked car in Tribeca. The woman, 52, told cops that she parked her Ford Explorer near the corner of Church and White Sts. around 4:30 p.m., and then attended a party located on nearby Laight St. for the next hour and a half. She apparently left a briefcase, containing the jewelry — several gold and pearl necklaces and a diamond engagement ring — and other pricey items, sitting in plain sight on her car’s front passenger seat. When she returned from the party, the woman found that her front passenger side window had been shattered, and FINANCIAL
A shifty wallet snatcher struck at a Century 21 department store on Nov. 13. The victim, 45, told cops she was shopping in the store at 22 Cortlandt St. around 6 p.m. when a stranger bumped into her and walked away. The woman didn’t think about the incident until about three hours later — after she had eventually left the store without buying anything — when her credit card company called to say that several fraudulent purchases had been made on her card. Apparently the thief had swiped the wallet out of the woman’s purse, and quickly made the purchases inside that very same Century 21 store before fleeing the scene, police said.
sleePing on the Bus
semi-Auto shooter gets 22 yeArs
A man convicted of shooting and wounding three people on the Lower East Side in 2010 has been sentenced to 22 years in prison, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced Nov. 7. Mario Rodriguez, 25, was found guilty of second degree attempted murder, first degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment in May. Around 8:45 p.m. on Oct. 26, 2010, Rodriguez was arguing with another man in front of 195 Stanton St. when Rodriguez pulled out a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and began firing at him, according to court documents. The man was shot in the torso, and two bystanders — a 44-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman — were also struck by Rodriguez’s bullets, the D.A. said. After the attack Rodriguez fled to Jersey City, but he was later arrested there by officers from the Police Department’s Seventh Precinct Detective Squad.
A woman was targeted by a thief as she slept on a Downtown city bus late on Nov. 15. The woman, 28, told cops that she was carrying her handbag when she boarded a southbound M-15 bus at the corner of E. 23rd St. and Second Ave. around 11 p.m., and then promptly began snoozing. When she woke up half an hour later, as the bus stopped at the corner of Water and Fulton Sts., the woman realized that the bag — containB Y heAther dubi N ing seven credit cards and Richard Pearson, a mentally ill man more than $2,600 worth of who has been accused of “terrorizing” personal belongings — was merchants and residents in Soho by gone. physically and verbally harassing them, The woman was able to was sentenced to 10 months in prison cancel all of her cards before last week, but he could be back on the any unauthorized purchases streets by Christmas. could be made. Pearson, 48, has been in jail since May 17, when he was charged with second-degree felony assault for allegedly throwing a brick at someone’s head. Two grand juries failed to indict him on the assault charge, but Pearson was indicted by both grand juries for possession of a narcotic, a misdemeanor. On Oct. 30, Pearson pleaded guilty for possession of cocaine in State Supreme Court in front of Judge Charles Solomon. Assistant District Attorney James Zaleta had requested the maximum jail sentence of one year, citing Pearson’s long criminal history, including six arrests in Soho. At his Nov. 12 sentencing, Pearson said, “I ask the court for leniency, and a just and proper sentence.” In delivering the sentence, Solomon
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‘Wild man’ sentenced to a few more weeks
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took into consideration the six months Pearson already served. Pearson looked confused, and asked Solomon, “I have to do the whole 10 months?” “He took it well when I explained he’ll be out in three to four weeks,” Alex Grosshtern, Pearson’s attorney, said afterward. The same could not be said for the handful of Soho residents present. “I’m scared for the day he gets out,” said Christina Nenov, who lives on Spring St. “He’s been terrorizing the community. There are a lot of frightened people on the street.” Minerva Durham, owner of Spring Studio, a figurative drawing studio, also expressed concern. “I’m overwhelmed,” she said. “It’s the duty of our government to protect us and find a way to protect us from him, and to help him, too.” Grosshtern was pleased with the case’s outcome, and said he will not advise Pearson to avoid Soho, stating, “He never pleaded guilty to anything that had to do with that area.”