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Pathmark Staffer Steals $3K in Change from Coin Collecting Machine: Police

By Leslie Albrecht | October 23, 2014 4:17pm
 A Pathmark employee was arrested after he alleged stole $3,300 out of a Coinstar machine over the course of two and a half months, police said.
A Pathmark employee was arrested after he alleged stole $3,300 out of a Coinstar machine over the course of two and a half months, police said.
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PARK SLOPE — A Pathmark grocery store employee spent more than two months stealing from the store's coin-counting machine — eventually making off with $3,300 before his co-workers turned him in, according to police.

Damian R. Skinner, 22, a custodian at Pathmark's Atlantic Center store, was arrested on Oct. 14 — after allegedly taking advantage of his duties cleaning the store's Coinstar machine to siphon off loose change starting in early August, according to a criminal complaint filed with the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

The Coinstar machine sorts piles of coins for customers then spits out a paper receipt that is used to claim cash or gift cards at the store's cash register.

According to prosecutors, Skinner rigged up a bag inside the machine that would catch the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters that customers deposited. He would then re-insert the loose change into the Coinstar machine, take the paper receipt, and claim the cash for himself.

Skinner was charged with two counts of felony grand larceny and one count of petit larceny. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance on Oct. 15 and is next due in court on Nov. 18.

An employee at Pathmark declined to comment. Skinner's defense attorney could not be reached immediately for comment.

Other notable crimes in the 78th Precinct include the following:

► A woman left her purse on the ground while she went for a Sunday morning stroll in Prospect Park on Oct. 19 at 11 a.m. and returned to find her bag had been stolen, police said. It contained $700 in cash, as well as earrings, a phone, nail polish, a flash drive, checkbook, wallet, credit card, and a U.S. passport.

► A 33-year-old woman had her bag stolen at the Barclays Center on Oct. 16 while she was at the Def Jams Recording 30th Anniversary concert, police said. The woman had hung her handbag on the empty seat in front of her. About $1,200 in valuables were stolen, including an LG G Pad, a Kindle, Ray-Ban sunglasses, a Banana Republic blazer, a cardigan and a gold Michael Kors wallet.

► A woman shopping at Uniqlo in the Atlantic Terminal Mall on Oct. 19 about 5:30 p.m. had her wallet stolen from inside her bag. The thief swiped the shopper's food co-op card, $100 in cash, library card, and MetroCard.

► A woman had her wallet swiped while she was visiting the DMV office in the Atlantic Center Mall on Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. The 52-year-old victim said she felt two strangers brush up against her, then checked her purse and found her wallet gone. The stolen items included $200 in cash and a driver's license.

► A patron at Sharlene's bar on Flatbush Avenue who left her purse unattended while she used the bathroom on Oct. 17 at 7:45 p.m. returned to find it gone, police said. The stolen belongings included a Gap wallet, a "cracked phone," and a notebook.

► Two roommates in an apartment on Carroll Street and Sixth Avenue came home on Oct. 16 to find their home had been burglarized, they told police. The 22-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman said they returned from a trip to Staten Island on Oct. 16 to find their apartment ransacked. They told police thieves could have entered through a back window that doesn't lock.

The stolen valuables included a Canon 7D camera and lenses, a laptop, an Xbox 360 and video games, a "brand new" pair of Nike Air Jordan 11 sneakers, 20 snapback hats and more than 15 pairs of Nike Jordan sneakers.

Major crimes in the 78th Precinct have dropped 5.3 percent this year compared with the same period in 2013, according to the latest NYPD statistics.