88th Precinct
Fort Greene–Clinton Hill
Pancaked
Talk about an unhappy meal!
A customer wigged out at a Flatbush Avenue Extension McDonald’s on May 17 when workers at the fast food giant weren’t moving fast enough for him.
Police said that the man entered the eatery between DeKalb Avenue and Fulton Street just after it opened at 5:30 am.
After waiting for a few minutes for his hotcakes, the early riser began to complain. Then, in a fit of rage, he yanked a credit card scanner off the counter, striking a 40-year-old manager in the process, said police, who arrested the disgruntled diner at the scene.
Tube terror
A thief pulled a gun on a 25-year-old woman during a mugging at the Nevins Street station on May 17, but was kind enough to leave her ID when she asked.
Police said that the straphanger was taking the underpass to the Brooklyn-bound platform at 11 am when the thug flashed his gun and demanded her property.
“Don’t make this hard on yourself,” he said.
The woman did as he asked, but begged to keep her ID, which he forked over before escaping toward the exit.
Metro menaces
A thieving trio popped a 36-year-old straphanger during an attempted robbery on May 23.
The victim said he was putting money inside a Metrocard dispenser at the Nevins Street station at 1:10 am when he was spotted by three teens hanging out by the turnstile.
One of the suspects approached and demanded the man’s money, but the victim refused to comply. The thug then demanded the wallet, but the victim still refused, prompting the menace to reach into his pants pocket as if he had a gun.
The victim backed away, but not fast enough to avoid the punch that the teen threw before jumping the turnstile and escaping to an awaiting train with his friends.
Swept up
Two pickpockets were arrested on May 19 after they manhandled both a 62-year-old man and a Good Samaritan.
Police said the senior was nearing the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb Avenue at 1:30 pm on May 19 when the two young toughs tried to take the wallet out of his back pocket.
The thieves snagged the wallet after a brief struggle. They also pushed aside a 27-year-old who tried to pull them off the older man, taking her cellphone as a penalty for interfering.
But their luck didn’t last — cops caught up with the perps after they raced into the DeKalb Avenue subway station, officials said.
Silent steal
Two thugs took an iPhone off a 30-year-old on May 21 after they threatened to hurt him if he made any noise.
The victim said that he was on Washington Avenue between Gates Avenue and Fulton Street at 1:30 am when the suspects crept up behind him and demanded his pricey phone and wallet.
The victim quickly handed over his property.
Just to show you how popular the iPhone is, the thieves threw the wallet back after giving both items the once over.
Beaten and robbed
Two teens were apprehended after they mugged a 15-year-old inside the Atlantic Terminal Mall on May 21.
Police said that the suspects pulled a knife on their victim as he perused the Flatbush Avenue mall between Hanson and Atlantic avenues at 3 pm, but were taken into custody before they could exit the front door.
The Bruce Ratner-owned mall is a hotbed for crime, making an appearance pretty much every week in this column.
Show and steal
A thief swiped a cellphone from a 14-year-old boy on May 17, but didn’t make off with the goods until after he raised his shirt to prove that he was strapped.
The victim told police that he was nearing the corner of Fulton and Adelphi streets at 4 pm when the suspect crept up behind him and told him to hand over his valuables.
The teen flat out refused, prompting the mugger to raise his shirt just enough so the victim could see the gun sticking out of his waistband.
Room raider
A burglar crept into a Clermont Avenue home on May 16, swiping an assortment of items right off a living room table.
The 39-year-old homeowner said that two laptops, an iPhone and a purse were on the table when she left to run errands at 4 pm. The items were gone when she returned, although cops could not determine just how the thief got inside the home between Myrtle and Willoughby avenues.
Cell bust
A teen terror snatched a Blackberry from a young woman’s hand on May 18, but didn’t have long to enjoy his new prize.
His 17-year-old victim told police that she was walking near Willoughby and Clermont avenues at 9:16 am when the thief jumped her. He was in custody a few minutes later, police said.
Chatty cheat
A sticky-fingered felon snaked a handbag from Der Schwarze Kolner on Fulton Street on May 17 after winning his victim over with his gift for gab.
An employee at the eatery between South Portland Avenue and South Oxford Street told police that she was working the bar at 10:50 am when a customer came in and asked for a drink of water.
She abided to the request, and ended up getting engrossed in a conservation with him. When he left, she realized her purse — which she had left on the bar — was missing, she told police.
Rifling through
A creeper wiggled his way through the window of a Myrtle Avenue apartment on May 19 and rooted through a 50-year-old woman’s belongings.
The tenant admitted to police that she left the bedroom window of her apartment between Washington and Waverly avenues partially opened when she left at 3 pm. When she returned four hours later, she realized that someone had taken a laptop computer and $210.
Shattered plans
There must have been a lot of glass on the streets last week — a half dozen vehicles were reported broken into at different times throughout the neighborhood. Here’s the quick rundown:
• A $2,500 Panasonic Toughbook was swiped from a Verizon van looted on May 17. The victimized employee told police that he parked the car on Classon Avenue between Greene and Lexington avenues at 1 pm.
• A thief pried the lock to a commercial van sitting on Willoughby Avenue between Hall and Ryerson streets sometime after noon on May 18, taking laptops, cellphones and electronics.
• The owner of a Toyota Prius returned to her car on May 19 after a brief errand at 2 pm only to learn that someone had bashed in her window and removed her Apple laptop computer.
• Someone plucked a Louis Vuitton bag from a 1997 BMW parked on Waverly Avenue between Flushing and Park avenues on May 21. The woman freely admitted she had left her windows rolled down as she ran a 10-minute errand at 12:50 pm.
• A brute bashed in the butterfly window to a 2005 Honda Pilot parked on Waverly Avenue between Greene and Gates avenues sometime after 10:45 am on May 22, taking a woman’s pocketbook and iPod.
• A laptop and portable navigation system were pinched from a car parked on Clinton Avenue between Myrtle and Willoughby avenues on May 20 after a thief bashed in the passenger side window after 10:30 pm.
— Thomas Tracy