LOWER MANHATTAN — Biking bandits struck two unsuspecting Downtown pedestrians this weekend — with their sticky fingers, police said.
One thief grabbed a $2,000 MacBook Pro right off of a man’s lap as he sat outside in SoHo Saturday evening, police said. The 31-year-old told cops he was sitting in front of 12 Vandam St. at the corner of Sixth Avenue about 8 p.m., when a young man on a dark blue or black bike rode past and quickly lifted the laptop.
Earlier the same day, a woman in the Financial District had her iPhone 4S snatched out of her hands by a man speeding past on a dark blue bike as she chatted on the smartphone, police said. The 34-year-old woman told police she was talking on the corner of William and Fulton streets at about 12:30 p.m. when the biker zipped by and stole the phone.
Police were still investigating the crimes as of Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were related.
Other notable crimes in this week's NYPD blotter in the 1st Precinct include:
— A woman stole a $1,695 handbag from a SoHo Balenciaga shop at 138 Wooster St., police said. A store employee told police that a woman asked to try on shoes on July 15 about 1:15 p.m., and when the saleswoman returned with the pair, the alleged thief was already gone — and had swiped the black, perforated purse.
— A 38-year-old man had his $14,000 Yamaha motorcycle stolen on July 19, after parking the bike in front of 200 Rector St. about 1:15 p.m., according to police reports. The man told police that when he returned to get the motorcycle at 6 p.m., it was missing.
— Three thieves grabbed $1,316 worth of red cargo shorts from True Religion at 132 Prince St., police said. According to police reports, the three men secretly swiped seven pairs of shorts on July 21 about 5:15 p.m. and then walked out of the store.
— A young woman had her iPhone 4S stolen out of her handbag as she partied at troubled SoHo hotspot Greenhouse during the early morning hours of July 17, police said. The 21-year-old told police that people were bumping into her all night at the crowded 150 Varick St. club, but she realized at about 3 a.m. that her phone was taken out of her bag, which she had kept slung over her shoulder the whole night.
