CROWN HEIGHTS — A cabbie who went after two fare-beaters in the neighborhood this week lost a whole lot more than the money for the ride, police said.
The 39-year-old driver picked up a pair of men in Manhattan at about 5 p.m. on Dec. 5 and drove them to a grocery story on East New York Avenue near Schenectady Avenue, he told police.
When they arrived at the destination, the two suspects jumped out of the yellow 2015 Toyota Camry and ran into 455 Schenectady Ave., located up the block.
The driver followed the pair into the building, where one of the suspects pulled a knife on him. When the cabbie ran to a nearby store to find help, the same suspect went back to the cab — with its keys still inside — and drove off.
Investigators later found the Toyota a couple of blocks away in front of 34 East 38th St., but $150 in cash, a backpack and a winter jacket belonging to the driver had all been taken.
No suspects have been identified and no arrests have been made, police said.
Other notable crimes in this week’s blotter from the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens 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 the precinct, click here.
► Thieves stole more than $11,000 worth of electronics and valuables from a Winthrop Street apartment building. Police said a 35-year-old man came home from work on Dec. 2 to find the place in disorder and discovered four laptops, an Apple display monitor, turntables, a set of headphones and a $5,000 telescope had gone missing.
► Two 14-year-old boys were robbed of their Jordan sneakers and cell phones in separate incidents on Rutland Road just one day apart, police said. The first robbery happened roughly 4:50 p.m. on Dec. 3 near East 45th Street when two teens threatened a 14-year-old with a simulated gun, stole his property and fled. A day later, at 4:25 p.m., three teens pushed a second 14-year-old boy into an alley behind 617 Rutland Rd., simulated a gun and stole his phone and sneakers, too. Police believe the robberies are connected.
► A worker at Kings County Hospital had her car stolen from the hospital’s garage after she lost the vehicle’s keys, she told police. The 55-year-old woman parked the 2010 Audi in the lot at 451 Clarkson Ave. at about 10 a.m. on Dec. 4 and discovered it was missing when she came back at 7 p.m. She said she’d lost the keys to the car, which have a remote unlock function, earlier that day.
► A 35-year-old man was arrested after hitting his mother in the face with a Bible during an argument, police said. The man and his 67-year-old mother had a dispute inside their apartment at 1015 Washington Ave. around 10 p.m. on Dec. 5 when he assaulted her with the book, causing swelling, a laceration and a scratch to her face. Police arrested him soon afterwards.
► A man driving a car with TLC plates was robbed at gunpoint as he was waiting for a red light in the vehicle at 10:45 p.m. on Dec. 5. The 26-year-old driver was stopped at the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Montgomery Street when two men walked up to the car and opened each of the front doors, police said. The man on the passenger side pointed a black handgun at the driver and demanded money. The suspect then grabbed an iPhone 5 that was sitting in the center console of the car and both men fled on foot westbound on Montgomery Street. The victim was uninjured during the incident.
