PARK SLOPE — A mom got a hard lesson in never leaving valuables unattended recently when a thief snatched her purse while she chased her child down the block, according to a police report.
The 43-year-old mom was in front of her brownstone on 10th Street between Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West on the afternoon of May 4 when she dropped her bag on the front stoop so she could run after her toddler daughter, the victim told cops.
When she returned, a fast-acting thief had snatched the purse, which contained an iPhone 5, house keys, credit cards, $100 in cash and 50 euros, according to the police report.
The busy mom, who asked that her name not be used, said she's ordinarily very security-conscious and wouldn't have taken her purse outside, but was expecting a phone call about her other child's swim class.
"I tend to be nervous, and I tend not to leave valuables unattended," the mom told DNAinfo New York. "I was fully aware I was leaving it there, so I kept looking back, buy I didn't see anything suspicious."
The victim said she left the purse unguarded for about three minutes. Within moments of the theft, one of the stolen credit cards was used to purchase a MetroCard, the mom said.
"In retrospect, I made the wrong decision [to leave the purse], but it's a reasonable decision to make, to chase after your daughter," she said.
Other notable crimes in this week's blotter at the 78th Precinct included the following, with details from police reports:
► A crook punched a 28-year-old woman in the head and grabbed her iPhone 5 on April 30. The robbery happened at 8:20 a.m. on the corner of Warren Street and Fourth Avenue, as the victim was walking to the Atlantic Avenue subway stop. The victim told cops she had seen the thief "several times" in the neighborhood before the robbery.
► A woman in a green baseball hat snatched an iPhone 4S out of the hands of a 26-year-old subway rider on April 28 about 8:10 p.m. The victim told cops she and the thief both got on the G train at the 15th Street stop. When the train reached Ninth Street-Fourth Avenue, the thief grabbed the phone and ran down the steps at the end of the platform that led to the R train.
► A 35-year-old man was arrested May 5 after allegedly choking his wife inside their Second Street apartment. Adam Reisner was drinking wine with his wife when an argument erupted. Reisner allegedly threw a wine bottle on the floor then choked his 28-year-old wife. The victim sustained minor injuries on her throat and foot. Reisner was charged with criminal obstruction of breathing, menacing, harassment, and attempted assault, according to court records.
► A 40-year-old man was exercising on May 4 at the YMCA on Ninth Street and Seventh Avenue when his Coach wallet was stolen from a locker at the gym. The thief made off with the exerciser's iPhone 5 and $320 in cash.
► A man went on a wild ride through Park Slope after he stole a delivery van full of diapers on May 4. The man jumped into the delivery van when its driver was busy making a delivery inside 100 Prospect Park West. The joy rider made a right on Sixth Street and was headed north on Eighth Avenue when he got into an accident with another vehicle.
The crash didn't stop him, and he was next spotted making a left on St. John's Place and driving the wrong way on the sidewalk. The van was last seen headed toward Flatbush Avenue. The runaway driver got away with a wallet, a cell phone, $300 in cash and 19 boxes of diapers, according to the police report.
