88th Precinct
Fort Greene–Clinton Hill
Mall maul
Two thugs jumped a 14-year-old boy outside of the crime-ridden Atlantic Terminal Mall on Jan. 4, taking his iPhone.
The victim was walking past the shopping center on Flatbush Avenue between Hanson Place and Atlantic Avenue at 5 pm when the thieves ran up and punched him in the face. The pricey smart phone was taken during the struggle, the victim told police.
More malling
More crooks and hooligans were running wild inside both the Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center shopping malls last week. Here’s what happened:
• Five thugs attacked a 16-year-old boy inside the Best Buy on Jan. 7, shattering the teen’s jaw. Employees told police that the teen was inside the store between Fort Greene Place and S. Portland Avenue at 7 pm as the thugs came in and pounced. The injuries were so severe that the victim’s jaw had to be wired shut.
• A thief swiped a purse from a woman shopping inside the Burlington Coat Factory on Dec. 30. The woman put her purse on the floor inside the store for just a few moments at 8:30 pm, but when she went to retrieve it a few minutes later, her bag was gone, along with her cash and credit cards.
• A thief snagged a pocketbook from a new mom on Jan. 8 when the woman took a break to assist her newborn. The woman told police that she was standing outside the Victoria Secret, adjusting her child’s booties, at 6 pm when the thief lifted her purse from the baby carriage.
• More than $7,500 in gift cards was taken from the Target between Dec. 26 and Jan. 4 — but this time an employee was to blame. A supervisor at the store between Hanson Place and Atlantic Avenue told police that the 20-year-old cashier took the cards without paying for them. The employee was arrested on Jan. 8.
Rolling renegade
An unhinged van driver pummeled another motorist — fracturing the man’s jaw — during a Jan. 5 road rage attack on Fulton Street.
The 52-year-old victim was pulling out of a parking spot between S. Portland Avenue and S. Elliott Place at 9:21 am when a two-tone van sideswiped his vehicle and kept on going.
Outraged, the victim sped after the van to have words with its driver, but the man behind the wheel preferred to speak with his fists — punching his victim in the face repeatedly during the fast and furious confrontation.
Snapped up
A thief swiped more than $36,000 in camera equipment from a car left inside a Brooklyn Academy of Music parking lot on Ashland Place on Jan. 4.
The victim parked the car in the lot between Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue at 10:30 pm, but when he returned a short time later, the lock to the driver’s side door was popped and the cabin was looted.
Joy ride
A thief motored off with a 1998 Ford he swiped from Irving Place on Jan. 4, but he didn’t have long to enjoy his new wheels.
The 32-year-old thief was arrested at 6:30 pm — shortly after the vehicle was reported stolen from between Gates and Putnam avenues.
Grab and run
Lots of people lost cellphones and electronic devices to quick moving, sticky-fingered thieves last week. Here’s the rundown:
• A thief swiped an iPod from a teenager on Lafayette Avenue between Fulton Street and Fort Greene Place at around 4 pm on Jan. 2.
• A teenage girl yanked a cellphone from a 25-year-old woman’s grasp on Jan. 4 during a furious struggle at the corner of Fort Greene Place and Lafayette Avenue at around 5:15 pm.
• A thug snagged a Blackberry from a 22-year-old woman on Washington Avenue between Atlantic Avenue and Fulton Street at around 10:15 am on Jan. 8.
— Thomas Tracy