SOHO — A man charging his phone in a SoHo cafe turned around to find that his bag was gone — and with it, nearly $2,000 in camera equipment and other items, police said.
The 45-year-old man was in the Aroma Espresso Bar at 145 Greene St. about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 1 when he noticed his bag was missing, police said.
The bag contained a $600 Nikon camera, a $500 Nikon camera lens and a $300 Fuji film camera as well as several items of clothing, police said.
"We met the customer yesterday [Monday] and we showed him all the surveillance footage so he could give [information] to detectives," said Lior Yanay, chief operating officer at Aroma's headquarters. "Any additional cooperation will be given if needed."
Police were still investigating the theft as of Tuesday.
Other notable crimes from this week's 1st Precinct police blotter include the following, with details from police reports:
► A $4,500 vintage Hermès bag was swiped from the Legacy clothing store at 109 Thompson St. on Nov. 27 between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., police said. The store was busy with customers when the suspect took off with the Hermès "Kelly" handbag from the late 1960s, store owner Rita Brookoff said.
"I am really bummed out by this," Brookoff said Tuesday. "They were just generic people who came here. Sometimes you get a vibe, but she [the store assistant] got no vibe."
► A purse was stolen from Lure FishBar at 142 Mercer St. on Nov. 24 at about 5 p.m. when a 51-year-old woman left the bag next to a friend while she went to the bathroom, police said. The Ted Baker purse contained about $180 in U.S. and Canadian dollars and British pounds, police said.
► A leather "Hobo" bag worth $1,500 was stolen from the Ralph Lauren store at 109 Prince St., police said. Shop assistants noticed the bag was missing on the Nov. 25 at about 4:30 p.m.
► Two pairs of sunglasses worth a total of $1,100 were taken from the Cutler and Gross store at 110 Mercer St. on Nov. 20, police said. Police described the suspect as a 5-foot-10 man with a medium build.
