Manhattan — Five drug dealers peddling mint leaves soaked in PCP were busted in Harlem last night after a yearlong investigation, police sources said.
The take-down by officers from the 32nd Precinct and Manhattan North Narcotics Unit happened at 7 p.m. on West 129th Street near Lenox Avenue, cops said.
The suspects, whose names were not immediately released, would allegedly sell the hallucinogen, nicknamed “Dips, in small Ziploc bags for $10 each. The street crew included two 16-year- olds; the rest were in their early 20s.
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Cops took a bite out of crime when they busted a thief who sank his teeth into a lower Manhattan liquor-store employee, police said yesterday.
Albert Danielson, 44, stuffed a bottle of liquor into his coat while browsing through the store near the Bowling Green subway station at 10:25 p.m. Monday, cops said.
When Danielson allegedly attempted to walk out of the shop without paying, the worker grabbed the bottle.
Danielson then bit the worker on the wrist, causing minor injury, cops said.
Danielson was charged with robbery and assault.
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Edward Scissorhands has nothing on this guy.
Franklyn Diaz, 35, put a pair of scissors to the throat of a man in a Midtown flophouse, demanded money and ransacked his room, cops said.
Diaz allegedly burst into the room at the West SRO on 36th Street near Eighth Avenue at 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 9. After putting the scissors to the man’s throat, Diaz barked, “I want $40 by 7 a.m.,” cops said.
Diaz took the victim’s debit card, cellphone and state ID card, cops said.
Police later arrested Diaz. The victim suffered neck abrasions.
Brooklyn
It was more than he could chew.
A thief was caught swiping several packs of gum from a Carroll Gardens CVS and then tried to fight his way out of the store, authorities said yesterday.
Gerald Baylor, 39, allegedly grabbed the packages at the Court Street location near Second Place Tuesday.
Two workers saw the theft and one demanded the stolen items back.
Baylor allegedly tossed some of the packets to the ground, then shoved a worker into a display case. As the two struggled, the second employee joined in the fight.
Baylor was arrested. The workers suffered minor injuries.
Bronx
A motorist was killed yesterday when he lost control of his car and slammed into a tree on the side of the Major Deagan Expressway in Woodlawn.
The 29-year-old man was driving a black 2009 Nissan Maxima north on the expressway at 1:30 p.m. when he lost control of the vehicle near the Van Cortlandt Park exit, sources said.
The car ran onto the shoulder and plowed into a tree, officials said. The wreck then burst into flames.
The driver’s body was found after firefighters extinguished the blaze, the sources said.
The victim was not identified pending notification of family.
Staten Island
Call it Best Steal.
A cashier at a Heartland Village Best Buy admitted to ripping off the electronics store between Nov. 27 and Dec. 9, cops said.
Sherise Edwards, 20, allegedly rang up gift cards for customers but put them in her pocket instead of their bags or charged them for cards they never asked for, sources said.
Workers at the store, at 2795 Richmond Ave., investigated after customer complaints, and Edwards was arrested Tuesday.
She is charged with grand larceny, according to a spokesman for DA Daniel Donovan.
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Cops who pulled over a driver for a defective brake light found two bags of cocaine stuffed into an Ajax container, authorities said yesterday.
Thomas Agoglia, 41, was stopped by police at South Railroad and Bancroft avenues in New Dorp at 9 p.m. Tuesday, cops said.
A nervous Agoglia admitted to cops he “may have a suspended license,” sources said.
Police noticed a can of Ajax containing two bags of cocaine that weighed more than two grams.
Agoglia was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and driving with a suspended license, according to the DA spokesman.
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A livery driver who crashed into another car on the Verrazano Bridge was busted for DWI, cops said.
Lev Beyder, 57, was driving his 2006 black Lincoln near the span at 6 p.m. Sunday when he rear-ended another car, cops said.
Officers noticed Beyder had bloodshot, watery eyes and was unsteady on his feet, police said.
He was given a Breathalyzer test and blew three times the legal limit, police said.
He was charged with aggravated DWI.