Since its inception in the 1830s, the Sun has chronicled crime in the mean streets of the City that Never Sleeps, and to this day, the police blotter – or its digital equivalent – offers fascinating snapshots into lives gone wrong in the myriad neighborhoods of the five boroughs. Our aim here is to chronicle the more curious criminal incidents across New York City that, with local news coverage in retreat, may not otherwise come under a spotlight. 

Please remember when perusing this blotter that arrests do not constitute guilt, and all suspects are innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, the reported items are merely a snapshot of a criminal matter– what is known at the time of publishing. In most cases, the persons arrested for breaking the law haven’t been convicted (yet). It’s also possible that the charges brought against them may be reduced or even withdrawn.

MANHATTAN

Midtown: “I Want Your Money!”: Wrench-Toting Tough Whacks Straphanger

A would-be mugger set to board a train heading into Union Square subway station spit threats and then drew a metal tool in a futile attempt to snatch cash from an older rider. 

The 20-year-old deviant was riding on a northbound N train at around 8:30 p.m. on March 30. 

Cops say as the train entered the station, the man stepped up to a 65-year-old man on the platform and groused, “I know you have money. I want your money.” But the victim didn’t cower to the hustler. 

The rebuff allegedly had the younger suspect eager to show he meant business and so he produced a metal wrench and allegedly threatened to stab him. And yet again, the older man didn’t fork over a penny.

Cops managed to swarm the suspected robber and brought him into custody. At his April 1 arraignment, the suspect was able to secure supervised release for the attempted robbery rap.

Lower Manhattan: “Do You Really Want To Touch Me?”: Bloodthirsty Punk Asks Woman After Stabbing Woman’s Face Nearby 9/11 Memorial

Facing the business end of a cop’s service weapon — a stabbing suspect chose wisely to drop his knife.  

The 23-year-old suspect was allegedly walking past a 57-year-old woman around West and Liberty Streets at about 2 a.m. on April 4. 

“I know you from somewhere,” he allegedly pitched to her, according to a law enforcement source. 

The fiend then allegedly pounced on her with a knife in hand and gashed her in the face and right shoulder. A detail assigned to the World Trade Center Command caught the woman’s panicked screams and confronted the attacker. He allegedly dared the cop to disarm him, stating, “What are you going to do?” And he added, “Do you really want to touch me?”

The police officer had his gun drawn and ordered the man to drop the knife. He complied. 

The man was cuffed and quickly booked for assault and menacing, court records show. 

The motive behind the vicious attack remains an enigma. First responders rushed to stabbed woman to Bellevue Hospital and she is expected to recover. 

The suspect was arraigned on April 6 in Manhattan criminal court, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered held on $15,000 cash bail, court records show.

QUEENS

Jamaica: “Bag’s Not Mine”… JFK Passenger Blames Mystery Woman’s Ask To Check Dope-Filled Suitcases, Another Admits to Contraband

Two jetsetters were caught trying to check suitcases loaded with dope. 

Sometime before 2 p.m. on March 3, a 34-year-old suspect checked a black suitcase into John F. Kennedy Airport’s Terminal 4 international hub. Shortly afterward, airport authorities flagged the cargo and found it was filled with 53 codeine pills and more than 10 pounds of cannabis. Once detained and quizzed about the bag’s contents — the suspect allegedly admitted it was his. 

“Yes, that’s my bag,” he allegedly said. 

Pressed further, he added, “So they caught me with the stuff!”

Weeks later, on March 30, another traveler was caught trying to hop on a plane with a black suitcase also carrying pills and dope. The 32-year-old man on this day was stopped after X-ray machines detected the contraband in the luggage. The alleged checker was pressed about its contents: more than 10 pounds of marijuana and more than two ounces of codeine pills. But unlike the initial suspect, the man tried to tell airport authorities that he was duped by a woman who preyed on his good nature. 

“The bag’s not mine,” he allegedly told them. “A woman gave me the bag in the terminal. 

“She asked me to check the bag.”

But the bag, according to the complaint, was fit with a name tag bearing the accused’s full name. It remains unclear who that woman (if she exists at all) was that the man was so willing to receive and ultimately mule the cargo through the air. The suspect faces several charges for criminal possession of drugs.

Flushing: “Counterfeit” Fashion Shades Vendor Nabbed 

A sunglasses salesman who was allegedly hocking fashion knockoffs on a street sidewalk was busted by cops for lacking a license for the alleged copycat accessories. 

The 59-year-old was brought into custody and forfeited the inventory of table-topped sunglasses from what appeared to be top-shelf brands such as Louis Vuitton, Celine, Burberry, Chanel, and Yves Saint Laurent. The authorities deemed the entire inventory to be “all counterfeit,” according to the complaint. 

The man was brought into custody at around 2:45 p.m. on April 2 while allegedly trying to sell the shady shades (said to be valued at more than $1,000) on Main Street near 41st Avenue, the papers say.

He faces charges of trademark counterfeiting and lacking a general vendor’s license.  

Rockaway Beach: “This Is My Vehicle”: Tinted Window Infraction Sends Weed Man’s Wheels Into Turbo Mode

A suspected herbal healer drew the attention of cops while idling by a hotel on a street with red signs reading “No Standing Anytime.” 

The 31-year-old man was behind the wheel of a 2004 black Mercedes-Benz car that was idling by the Hotel Mint at around 1:35 p.m. on April 2. Seeing officers approach, the suspect allegedly tried to shift the car into reverse and “attempted to flee,” according to the criminal complaint. But it failed. 

The driver stayed put and was then questioned by officers. 

“This is my vehicle” he allegedly told inquiring cops while they examined his windows on the ride and found they bore a 22 percent light transmittance — far below the state’s 70 percent legal limit.  

With the window fail, the officers took a closer gander at the car and its contents. 

They would pluck from the car scores of bags of weed — 16 ounces of the stuff — in various-sized baggies and tubes.  They also found the suspect was allegedly holding an assortment of drug paraphernalia including several Ziploc baggies, tubes, and glassine envelopes. 

The decision was made to haul away the weed and take the driver into custody. Cops say the suspect flailed his arms and “twisted” his body to avoid getting cuffed. 

Despite the scuffle, the man was successfully brought under arrest and charged with resisting arrest, drug charges for the bags of cannabis, and the window tint violation, among others. 

THE BRONX

Longwood: Unwanted Visitor’s Barricade Antics Inside Woman’s Home Summons ESU Standoff

He forced his way into her home, sending her fleeing for her life through the fire escape.

The 33-year-old suspect had been barred by a judge from any contact with the 47-year-old woman. But at around 7:30 p.m. on March 30 the man allegedly barged his way into her apartment, sending her into a terrifying flight.

Once the woman managed to steal away, the NYPD’s elite Emergency Services Unit  and its Hostage Negotiation Team descended on the East 167th Street and Tiffany Street apartment complex. The woman managed to call cops, claiming the now stag lawbreaker was allegedly armed with a gun, according to a law enforcement source.

The efforts to communicate with the suspect proved unsuccessful. That left ESU cops to move in and storm the woman’s apartment — nabbing the interloper with ease. Despite the claims of the man being armed, cops were unable to pinpoint a piece on the premises. 

The intrusion flies in the face of an order of protection that the woman secured back on March 28 and that had been in effect until May, according to the criminal complaint. 

The suspect was admitted into a hospital and then charged with trespassing and criminal contempt. 

Soundview: Super’s Beef With Tenant Ends in Gunshot, Guns and Crack Seizure

A super’s clash with a tenant led to gunplay and a fired round. 

At around 2:30 a.m. on March 28, cops say a 50-year-old building hand engaged in a heated squabble with a 39-year-old tenant inside the basement of the Bryant Avenue apartment complex he wards over. Cops say the fighting words graduated to the elder drawing a pistol and unloading one shot. Fortunately, the shot bullet missed the rival resident. 

The gunshot drew cops to the domicile and led to a subsequent search warrant being executed the next day. Cops searched through the three-bedroom apartment and discovered in one of the bedrooms a safe along with a cooler. The safe was harboring a .32 caliber revolver and the cooler was filled with three baggies of crack, according to the criminal complaint. 

The investigators also spotted a laundry bag and, in a separate bedroom, a loaded 9mm pistol along with a spent shell casing and a high-capacity drum magazine. 

The accused, who had been convicted back in 2004 on a drug rap, was subsequently slapped with charges of attempted murder, attempted assault, and several criminal possession of weapons and drugs. Authorities also charged the resident for locking horns with the super; bringing both criminal weapons and drug possession charges.

Concourse Village: MetroCard Misfit Caught Disabling Yankees Station Train Vending Machines To Hustle Cardless Straphangers

A heavily trafficked no. 4 train subway station was bottlenecked after a crook allegedly rendered the card machines out of order to milk commuters. 

The 36-year-old suspect was spotted on CCTV back on June 17 of 2023 inserting an object into the feeding slits of three MTA MetroCard vending machines. The tampering caused the machines to return a message: “NO BILLS ACCEPTED AT THIS TIME” and saw the accused standing next to the broken machines to sell swiped cards to desperate subway riders.

The pursuit of the lecherous money grab continued until April 2. That’s when cops finally brought the accused into custody and charged him with 27 counts of criminal tampering. 

The scam is likely to be short-lived as the MTA announced recently that on New Year’s Eve, the last MetroCard will be sold and after a two-year winddown will go the way of the token — becoming a distant memory.    

BROOKLYN 

Vinegar Hill/Brooklyn Heights/Crown Heights: Handsy Sicko Caught After Being Filmed Hopping Subway Turnstile 

An aggressive perv terrorizing women was hunted down by cops for stiffing the subway system for a free ride. 

Cops say the 26-year-old perv first struck shortly before 7 a.m. on March 19, when he allegedly was lurking around Gold Street near Front Street in Dumbo and then grabbed a 30-year-old woman from behind and then rubbed his crotch on the woman’s buttocks, according to the criminal complaint. Three similar lascivious attacks followed. 

On March 30, at Middagh and Willow Street in Brooklyn Heights, the accused also snuck up behind a 21-year-old woman and wrapped his arms around her to rub his pelvis on her buttocks. 

Blocks away at Henry and Joralemon Streets on April 1, the suspect was pinpointed for accosting a 34-year-old woman. The same manner of sneaking up behind her was followed this time with the suspect thrusting his privates to the woman’s rear. 

He allegedly did the same thing to a 60-year-old woman who was walking around Fulton Street and Ashland Place in Fort Greene at about 3:45 a.m. when he also grabbed her and is said to have “thrusted” his pelvis at her buttocks. 

The next day, in Brooklyn Heights, the suspect is said to have attacked another woman — but this time the papers say he allegedly picked her “off the ground” and then thrusted his penis against her buttocks. 

Footage of the suspect leaping over a subway turnstile circulated from the March 30 incident helped lead investigators to secure his capture on April 8. The alleged molesting monster was charged with multiple counts of forcible touching and sexual abuse.

Sunset Park: Knife-Slashing Tenant Attacks 

Bitter words between a tenant and his landlord graduated into fisticuffs — with the tenant drawing a knife and slashing his rival. 

On April 1, the 41-year-old suspect was engaged in a clash with his landlord who is a decade older. Their squabble inside of their building on 6th Avenue near 57th Street allegedly involved the tenant — clad all in black — pulling the blade and slashing the elder landlord’s face and neck.

The knifed landlord was rushed to Kings County Hospital and treated for his non-life- threatening wounds.  Following the bloodletting, the suspect fled the building but was busted soon after he returned home to what had become a crime scene. 

He faces several assault counts, menacing, and weapons possession, as well as harassment.

Dumbo: “Would [Victim] Allow Me To Give Back the Money?”: Financial Manager Tries To Weasel Way Out of Fleecing Client for More Than $50K

A money manager was nailed for funneling tens of thousands of dollars worth of client’s funds to fatten his wealth. 

The 33-year-old was found to have moved more than $50,000 worth of funds from a man’s brokerage account to his personal accounts, according to the criminal complaint. 

“The records show I did it,” the suspect allegedly told investigators when he was exposed for the embezzling scheme dating back to May of last year. 

The jig was up when the victim discovered the juked numbers on his statements and led to the accused being booked on April 2. When walled in by the facts of the case, the suspect allegedly sought mercy, pleading: “If possible, would [victim] allow me to give back the money so that I do not have a criminal record?

“I would not be able to find a job as a financial manager with this on my record.”

That request was clearly denied. And the compromised money manager was summarily charged with grand larceny, petit larceny, and criminal possession of stolen property. 

STATEN ISLAND

Dongan Hills: “I’ll Use The Knife Against You”: Barred Brute Caught Lobbing Blade Threats at Ex Over Mom’s Trial 

A big mouth was caught teeing off on his ex-galpal and racking up charges for meddling with his mom’s court case.

The 26-year-old was nabbed on April 4 for a series of phone calls he allegedly placed to a woman who he was forbidden from contacting based on a judge’s protection order from late last year. In that case dating back to mid-October, the accused faces assault with intent to cause serious injury and weapons possessions. 

“Leave my mother alone,” the accused allegedly told the woman back at around 9 a.m. on March 19 using a blocked phone number, according to the criminal complaint. “I have the knife with your fingerprints on it and if you don’t drop the charges against me, I’ll use the knife against you as evidence in my mother’s case.”

It appears the woman he called was “about to be called as a witness” in the suspect’s mother’s criminal case, the papers say. Five days later, at around 1:30 a.m., the same suspect allegedly dialed the woman again from a blocked number and barked: “What’s up little seize [sic], drop the charges and stop bothering my mother.” 

In both calls, authorities say the woman recognized the man’s voice as the accused and reported them to authorities. He is now facing several charges including bribing a witness to avoid appearing or testifying at a proceeding, witness tampering, stalking, harassment, and criminal contempt. 

He pleaded not guilty during his April 5 arraignment and was released without cash bail.