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Thieves Hit Shoppers at Park Slope Grocery Stores, Police Say

By Leslie Albrecht | November 13, 2014 2:29pm
 A thief snatched a shopper's debit card and $160 in cash during a busy day at Whole Foods recently, police said.
A thief snatched a shopper's debit card and $160 in cash during a busy day at Whole Foods recently, police said.
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DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopal

PARK SLOPE — Trips to buy groceries ended with stolen valuables for unlucky shoppers at two local stores recently, according to police reports.

A woman shopping at the Whole Foods at Third Avenue and Third Street at 1:50 p.m. Nov. 9 had her debit card and $160 in cash taken out of her bag. The victim told police she didn't feel anyone reach into her purse, but that the store was busy, according to a police report.

Later the same day, a woman had her wallet stolen from a shopping cart in the parking lot at the Pathmark on 12th Street near Hamilton Place at 6:15 p.m., according to a police report.

And the previous week, another shopper at the same Pathmark parked her car on Nov. 3 near 14th Street and Hamilton Place and returned at about 11 a.m. to find a window smashed and several items stolen, including a juicer, an electric can opener, a heated ice scraper and jewelry, according to a police report.

Police had not made arrests in the crimes as of Thursday.

Other notable crimes in this week's blotter at the 78th Precinct include the following, with details from police reports:

► A man had a briefcase containing $6,000 in cash and a U.S. passport stolen out of his car while it was parked on Fifth Avenue near Second Street on Nov. 1 about 5 p.m. The man, 32, told police his car keys were stolen during a previous burglary and that there were no signs of forced entry.

► A woman had her purse stolen after she left it on a table while she was dancing at the Bell House on Seventh Street near Second Avenue about 1 a.m. on Nov. 8.

► A thief snatched a 28-year-old's bag while she was sitting on a bench waiting for the R train at the Fourth Avenue and Union Street stop on Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.

► A 21-year-old employee at Lowe's on Second Avenue near 10th Street had his 2011 Hyundai Genesis broken into while it was parked in front of the store on Nov. 3. The thief took the employee's iPod and Pioneer car radio.

► An employee showed up for work on Nov. 6 at the Foro Marble Company on Second Avenue near 12th Street and found the office ransacked, with papers strewn on the floor and drawers open. There were no signs of forced entry and nothing was reported stolen.

► Two air bags were stolen out of a 2001 BMW parked at Sixth Street and Prospect Park West on Nov. 9. The thief smashed the car's rear driver's side window.

► A custom-built Surly Long Haul Trucker bike was stolen out of an apartment building on Fourth Avenue near Garfield Place on Nov. 6. The bike was locked to a pole in the building's lobby, but the victim told police the building's front door often doesn't close all the way.

Major crimes in the 78th Precinct have dropped 6.7 percent this year, compared with the same period during 2013, according to the latest NYPD statistics.