Police Beat

Double trouble: 2 cars disappear

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When a 52-year-old woman parked her car at 5235 Blackstone Ave., for the night July 20, she really expected it to be there when she woke up the next morning.

Instead, she was disappointed. When she went outside, she found her four-door SUV gone.

The woman told police it’s possible she got the thieves on camera, but she wasn’t sure if a nearby setup was actually recording at the time her SUV was being taken.

Officers with the 50th Precinct have closed the case, but they’re still keeping an eye out in case it turns up out on the streets. They did value her car, a 2015 Honda Pilot, at $30,000.

Unfortunately, the Blackstone Avenue woman wasn’t the only one to have a run-in with car thieves.

Another woman, this time 35, told police she parked her car at the 6000 block of Spencer Avenue, July 21 at 10 p.m. When she returned to it that next morning, it was gone. 

There was no broken glass at the scene, investigators said, and the cameras facing the street didn’t catch the incident. Once again, police closed the case, but will be alerted if the car — a 1998 Nissan Altima — turns up anywhere.

Car thief goes for catalytic converter

The catalytic converter thiefs are back again, this time hitting a Toyota Prius. 

A man parked his car at the corner of Independence and Palisade avenues July 20 before he was set to drive into Manhattan.

When he returned later that evening, his 2007 hybrid was still there, and everything seemed to be fine. That was, according to police, he tried to turn on the engine. He heard a loud, strange noise, prompting him to call a mechanic. That mechanic, in turn, wasted no time to find the culprit: the catalytic converter was gone. 

The converter works to reduce emissions and pollutants that come from the car exhaust system. When it ‘s missing or faulty, the driver could notice a rattling noise and reduced engine performance.

The converter, police said, was valued at $3,100.

Woman hospitalized after assault

A woman was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital on July 22 after she was reportedly attacked on Sedgwick Avenue.

According to police, the 22-year-old woman was walking near the 2700 block of Sedgwick at 2:30 p.m., when she realized she was being followed. The would-be attacker — who police identified as a 43-year-old woman — apparently started screaming and arguing with her.

The situation got really tense when the older woman reportedly pulled out a black knife and lunged at the victim, stabbing her in the right forearm.

When officers arrived, the younger woman had cuts on her arm and bruises on her head. She was taken to the Third Avenue hospital while her attacker went a different direction — jail.

Deliveryman doesn’t deliver, gets robbed

A man out on a routine delivery on Riverdale Avenue found out the trip wasn’t so routine. 

Police said two unknown people attacked the 36-year-old July 18 on the corner of Johnson and Irwin avenues. The duo knocked the deliveryman off his bike, bruising his knees and right forearm. 

The two men took off with the bike, which police valued at $1,450. 

Investigators checked out cameras around the scene, but came up empty-handed. 

But police aren’t giving up, and the case remains open.

Woman stumbles across burglary

When a woman returned to her Grosvenor Avenue home on July 15 at lunchtime, she discovered she was not alone. 

The woman found a 21-year-old man in her backyard, prompting her to call 911. When the police arrived, the man was arrested and charged with burglary.

Crime, grand larceny, assault, robbery, police beat, Alexandra Hutzler