Secret Santa steals some holiday spirit

It’s the holiday season, and more packages than ever are making their way from delivery trucks to doorsteps. But a few didn’t make it to their destination the evening of Nov. 28.

A man walked into 525 W. 236th St., that evening, although the building super told police he didn’t live there. According to the report, the man grabbed several packages from the building, and took them with him on his way out.

Cameras at the scene caught the 5-foot-7, 170-pound man on tape, but he still remains at large.

Regular customer gone wrong

The relationship between a regular customer and the employees of a grocery store soured in the early morning hours of Nov. 7.

The customer reportedly entered the store on the 2200 block of University Avenue with a bottle wrapped in a plastic bag, pretending it was a firearm. He then walked up to the counter and told the cashier to “give (him) the money” before making his way behind the counter to double-down on the demand.

The attempted theft was caught on camera, and police arrested their suspect at the scene. He was charged with robbery in the second degree, police said, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

— Kirstyn Brendlen

Tough travels

A man hopped off the Bx10 at the corner of Bailey Avenue and West 238th Street during the early evening hours of Nov. 10 making his way home.

Instead, three men grabbed him, asking him where he was going all while sticking a sharp object against his side, according to police. The commuter thought the sharp object was possibly a knife, but didn’t get a good look at it.

The three men took $40 in cash and two MetroCards, police say, before running away. The victim was left shaken, but wasn’t seriously injured. 

Police searched the area but didn’t find any evidence of the thieves.

— Kirstyn Brendlen

Food for thought

It’s frustrating when your takeout food arrives cold. But it’s another frustration entirely when the order gets canceled without warning.

Unfortunately, one delivery driver had no other choice the evening of Dec. 2.

He was carrying an order while riding his e-bike on Cannon Place when three men reportedly stopped him. Brandishing a knife, the men demanded the delivery driver hand over the food, bike, money and keys — in Spanish. 

In addition to the knife, police said one of the men also was brandishing a gun, who reportedly whipped the delivery driver in the back of his head after he hesitated handing over the keys. With the delivery driver down, one of the mean rode off with the e-bike north on Cannon, while the other two robbers took his food order, phone and e-bike keys, taking off in the other direction.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The delivery driver took off after his e-bike, despite knowing the man had a gun. Seeing he was being pursued, the e-bike thief fired two rounds into the air which, according to the police report,  didn’t exactly sound like real gunshots. Instead, the delivery driver believes the man may have been carrying a BB gun.

Nevertheless, the perp got away with bike, last seen heading south on Orloff Avenue.

The three men remain at large, and the investigation continues.