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SoHo Woman Tells Armed Robber He 'Didn't Have the Balls to Shoot,' Cops Say

By  Irene Plagianos Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | July 10, 2013 9:20am | Updated on July 11, 2013 12:48pm

 Anna Graham, pictured at the unveiling of her husband's bust of pianist Svyatoslav Richter on March 22, 2012.
Anna Graham, pictured at the unveiling of her husband's bust of pianist Svyatoslav Richter on March 22, 2012.
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The Image Works/Sergey Kuznecov

SOHO — A SoHo woman taking a smoke break in front of her home cooly stared down the barrel of a gun and told a would-be thief that he "didn't have the balls to shoot her," police said. 

Anna Graham, 54, was taking a cigarette break while packing a car outside the Grand Street apartment about 1 a.m. July 3 when two young men approached her and one brandished a weapon, according to the NYPD.

As Graham stared down the gunman, his partner egged him on while rummaging through her car, cops said.

But the tense stand-off erupted when Graham's two friends burst from the building, one pouncing on the man picking through car the other and the other friend quickly dialing 911, police said.

The men then fled with a loot from the car that included an iPad Mini, $600 in cash, $100 in makeup, and several pairs of reading glasses and sunglasses, cops said.

Graham's daring came as no surprise to neighbor Angus Kneale, 39.

"She doesn't take any s--t. She has a tough personality," he said.

Graham and her husband, renowned Russian-born sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, who served with distinction in the Red Army during WW II before launching his art career, split their time between the SoHo apartment and another home on Shelter Island, according to the Northforker.

Neizvestny, who was once left for dead on a battlefield and later provoked the ire of Soviet Premier Nikhita Krushchev, said he bought the Hamptons home as a refuge from frantic city life, according to a 1995 New York Times profile.

Police were still investigating the incident as of Tuesday.

Other notable crimes in this week's NYPD blotter in the 1st Precinct include:

— A man was carjacked after a night out at the South Street Seaport, police said. The 41-year-old told cops he was returning to his 2003 Mercedes-Benz, which was parked at South and Dover streets, about 3:30 a.m. on July 7 when a man approached him as he was getting into his car. The alleged robber quickly pulled the victim’s shirt over his head, distracting him and causing him to drop his keys. The thief proceeded to completely rip off the victim’s shirt and grab the man’s $1,500 gold chain from his neck, before driving off in the blue Mercedes, police said.

— A 29-year-old woman had her $1,500 Marc Jacobs leather bag stolen during a night out with friends at Café Noir on July 2, police said. The woman told officers that she left her bag on a bench next to her at the 32 Grand St. bistro about 11:30 p.m., and when she returned a few minutes later, the designer bag, which also contained a $300 Postalco wallet, was missing.

— A man had his iPhone 5 and $200 Gucci wallet stolen out of his unlocked gym locker while he exercised at Equinox’s 54 Murray St. location on July 7, police said. The 29-year-old told cops he returned to his locker at about 4:45 p.m. to find that it was empty.