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Teen Steals iPhone, Orders Cab Through App on Victim's Cell, Police Say

By Shaye Weaver | May 26, 2017 5:26pm | Updated on May 30, 2017 9:53am
 The teen ordered a taxi back to his East Harlem home using the stolen iPhone, police said.
The teen ordered a taxi back to his East Harlem home using the stolen iPhone, police said.
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UPPER EAST SIDE — The phone may be smart, but this thief wasn't.

An East Harlem teen snatched an iPhone out of a woman's hand last month, using one of her apps to hail cab and flee the scene, snapping a selfie of himself on the device and even logging in to his own Apple account, police said. 

The 38-year-old victim was walking home on April 8, around 10:30 p.m., when the 17-year-old suspect ran up behind her outside of 407 E. 61st St. and grabbed her purse out of her hands, the NYPD said.

Running toward York Avenue, the teen used her iPhone 6's Gett app to order a taxi back to his home in East Harlem, police said. He also took a selfie, which was uploaded to the victim's iCloud account, and signed into his own personal Apple account on iPhone 6S, according to authorities.

Detectives tracked the suspect down and arrested him on May 23 at 11 a.m., police said.

He was arraigned on three counts of grand larceny and his bail was set at $7,500 cash or bond.

Other notable crimes in this week’s blotter from the 19th Precinct include:

Elderly Aunt Scammed Out of $6,400

An 85-year-old Upper East Side woman fell victim to a phone scam on Thursday, when a man called claiming to be a detective at 4 p.m., police said. The man told her that her niece was in jail and that the woman could bail her out by purchasing store gift cards from Best Buy, Walmart, Target and Home Depot. The man advised her not to tell the cashier why she would be buying the cards. When she went to Home Depot, the cashier asked why she wanted to purchase $6,400 in gift cards, and the woman made up an excuse, police said. Later, after the woman had given the card numbers over the phone to the scammers, she discovered that her niece was not in jail.

Breakfast Food Bandit Hits Gristedes

A 38-year-old East Harlem man was arrested for trying to steal bacon and coffee from the Gristedes at 202 E. 96th St., near Third Avenue, on Saturday, at 10:50 a.m., police said. When employees caught him on camera putting the items into a laundry bag and tried to stop him from leaving, the suspect grabbed his bag from them, flailed his arms and kicked an employee. The items he tried to steal were eight Café Bustelo Coffee containers worth $52, seven Applegate bacon packages worth $52, five Godshall bacon packages worth $30, and three Oscar Mayer turkey bacon packages worth $17, police said. He was charged with robbery. A manager at Gristedes declined to comment.

Don't Give Your Purse to Strangers

A 38-year old woman had her purse stolen at Ethyl's Alcohol & Food at 1629 Second Ave., near 85th Street, Friday morning at 2:45 a.m., after handing it to a stranger at the bar while going to dance, police said.  When she returned, the person had vanished with the $2,000 Tod's snakeskin purse, which contained a $400 Louis Vuitton keychain, $100 in cash, $200 in makeup, a $400 Tom Ford perfume bottle, her license, and an American Express card. A spokesperson for Ethyl's did not immediately return a request for comment.

Locker Theft at Lenox Hill Hospital

A Brooklyn man had his wallet stolen from a locker at Lenox Hill Hospital when he went for an MRI at the 100 E. 77th St. medical center on Tuesday, police said. At 7 p.m., the 31 year old put his $300 Paul Smith wallet that had cash and multiple credit cards inside of a hospital locker before going in for his MRI, police said. When he returned to the locker, it was missing. Reps for Lenox Hill Hospital did not immediately return a request for comment. 

► Fake Bottle Return at Duane Reade

A 28-year-old cashier from Brooklyn was seen on camera processing fake bottle returns and pocketing the cash at the Duane Reade at 1550 Third Ave. at 87th Street, police said. Between April 20 and May 21, he took $2,050, police said. He was charged with grand larceny.

Bloomingdale's Targeted for Fraud and Theft

Two men were arrested for trying to buy high-end items at the 1000 Third Ave. Bloomingdale's with fake credit cards, police said. A 38-year-old suspect purchased two pairs of Ferragamo shoes worth $740 and two Ferragamo belts worth $975 using a fake credit card on Wednesday at 6 p.m. He was charged with grand larceny, two counts of possession of a forged instrument, and one count of criminal possession of stolen property. A 19-year-old Queens man tried picking up two Burberry shirts valued at $288 that he bought with an account that didn't belong to him on Thursday around 7 p.m. He used a fake ID to pick up the items, but store security stopped him and he was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Drunk Driver Refuses Breath Test

A New Jersey man was arrested for drunk driving when police pulled him over for recklessly driving his 2016 Chevy Wagon along East 60th Street, First Avenue and East 61st Street Thursday shortly after 2:30 a.m., police said. He made an improper turn and disobeyed traffic light, and refused to take a Breathalyzer test when he was stopped. The driver was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, unlicensed driving, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol.