BROOKLYN — A 23-year-old woman was robbed by two men as she was walking home late at night near a busy Crown Heights intersection last weekend, police said.
The woman was passing Empire Boulevard and Nostrand Avenue at about 3 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9 when two men grabbed her, demanded money, forced her to the ground and forcibly removed items from her purse, according to the NYPD.
Officers responding to the incident caught up with one of the assailants, 19-year-old Steve Benjamin of Brownsville, who was carrying the victim’s iPhone and a kitchen knife at the time of his arrest.
The other suspect is still at large.
Benjamin faces seven charges total, including two counts of robbery, a felony, court records show. He is in custody on $15,000 bail and is due back in court on Jan. 25.
His attorney could not be reached for comment.
Other notable crimes in this week’s blotter from the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush include:
The map above depicts only those blotter items compiled by DNAinfo New York within the date range indicated, not all crimes that took place in a given precinct. To see all previous crime blotters from this precinct, click here.
► Police responded to multiple 911 calls about shots fired near Fenimore Street and Troy Avenue roughly 8 p.m. on Jan. 6. Officers recovered four .38 caliber casings on the northwest corner of the intersection. There were no known injuries from the shooting.
► A 17-year-old girl was waiting for the bus at Rutland Road and Albany Avenue at about 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 6 when two male suspects approached her and started arguing with the teen, police said. Then, one of them began punching her and the other hit her with a baseball bat. During the dispute, her cellphone fell on the ground and was lost, she told police. The suspects fled on foot.
► More than $13,000 in jewelry was stolen from an Ocean Avenue apartment on Jan. 6. A 28-year-old woman reported that someone had broken into her place at 135 Ocean Ave. between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. and taken earrings, rings, necklaces and a Cartier watch worth $5,000, among other things. Police said there was no sign of forced entry at the apartment.
► A 48-year-old man was walking south on Nostrand Avenue near Sterling Street approximately 2:45 a.m. on Jan. 8 when a man asked him for a light for a cigarette. When the victim stopped to help, the suspect pulled out a knife and demanded his wallet, police said. The robber took off with $91 and the man’s ID, fleeing north on Nostrand.
► Two men were getting out of a car in front of 1510 Carroll St. roughly 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 9 when an unknown suspect came up to them and told them to hand over their possessions, according to the NYPD. The two men tried to fight off the would-be thief, who then stabbed one of the men, a 30-year-old, twice in the back. He was treated at Kings County Hospital. The other victim, a 23-year-old man, was uninjured. The assailant fled on foot empty-handed after the assault.
► Police responded to reports of shots fired at 225 Parkside Ave. at about 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 10. When they arrived, officers observed a bullet hole in the wall, a set of keys and $46 in cash in the building’s lobby. A resident told police he heard one shot, someone yell “Why did you do that?” and then another shot. One spent round was recovered at the scene, but no injuries were reported.
► A 35-year-old woman was hospitalized after her brother stabbed her multiple times during an argument, police said. The woman told police she was walking into 1673 President St. when her 37-year-old brother approached her from between two parked cars and started arguing with her. A short time later in the lobby of the building, he took out a knife and stabbed her in the neck and shoulder, then fled west on President Street. She was taken to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
► Four men tried to forcibly take a cellphone from a 29-year-old man as he walked along Montgomery Street between Franklin and Bedford avenues at about 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 12. The suspects tried to take the phone from the victim's right pocket before punching him in the head. The group then drove away east on Montgomery in a silver car empty-handed.
