Police are looking for a man (above) who tried to rob two women — including a 76-year-old he violently mugged — in Flushing last week, cops said.
Two men attempted to pull off a Christmas Day heist at a jewelry store in Elm Park, cops said.
The suspects (above) broke into Samantha’s Jewelry Store on Port Richmond Avenue at around 3 a.m., police said.
Brooklyn
A pyromaniac panhandler threatened to set a deli worker afire after the man refused to give him money, authorities said.
Joel Southern and a buddy went into the deli on Stone Avenue near Belmont Avenue in Brownsville at 4 p.m. Sunday, begging for money, law-enforcement sources said.
When the clerk declined to give him cash, Southern, 42, lashed out, court documents say.
“All right, I am going to go come back and burn you guys. I am going to go to the gas station, buy gas, pour it on you, stand here and watch you burn,” he allegedly said. “I don’t have a problem watching you burn.”
Southern then went across the street to a gas station and returned 10 minutes later with a container full of gas, witnesses told police.
He thew the gas on the worker’s face and clothes and threatened him with a lit cigarette lighter, the court papers allege.
Witnesses pulled Southern away and he fled.
He was arrested a short time later and charged with assault, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment.
The ex-con was paroled in April 2012 after doing time on a drug rap, records show.
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An off-duty cop was busted on charges of menacing yesterday in Flatbush.
Officer Jim Paul, 34, was allegedly in a fight with a man who claimed the officer threatened him with a gun, police sources said.
Paul was arrested in the 71st Precinct neighborhood at 2:05 a.m. and given a desk-appearance ticket for the misdemeanor cops said.
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A hit-and-run driver struck a bicyclist yesterday in Bushwick, authorities said.
The victim, in his 30s, was riding on George Street near Central Avenue just before 4 a.m. when a silver sedan hit him and kept going.
The cyclist was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a head injury.
He was listed in serious but stable condition.
The Bronx
A crazed thief hailed a cab yesterday to grab a bite — out of the driver.
The suspect (pictured) hopped in the cab at around 7 a.m. on White Plains Road near Seward Avenue in Soundview, cops said.
When she arrived at her destination, she viciously bit the driver on the shoulder and ran off with his backpack containing cash, cops said.
The driver was not seriously injured.
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Police are looking for a thug who shot a customer in a Bronx bodega.
The suspect walked into the deli on the corner of Bronxwood Avenue and East 221st Street at around 11:25 a.m. Sunday and confronted the customer.
He shot the 21-year-old victim once in the face before fleeing eastbound along East 221st Street, police said.
The victim was rushed to Montefiore Hospital, where he was listed in serious but stable condition.
The suspect’s face is obscured in video images of the incident, but he is described as being in his 20s and standing about 5-foot-9.
Queens
Police are looking for a man (pictured) who tried to rob two women — including a 76-year-old he violently mugged — in Flushing last week, cops said.
The suspect allegedly pushed the older woman to the ground at 4:40 p.m. Jan. 7 on Kissena Boulevard near Beech Avenue and attempted to rob her.
After failing to get anything from her, the attacker then attempted to rob a 53-year-old woman, but wound up fleeing empty handed, cops said. Both victims are OK.
The suspect is described as being between 5-foot-11 and 6-foot-2.
Staten Island
Two men attempted to pull off a Christmas Day heist at a jewelry store in Elm Park, cops said.
The suspects broke into Samantha’s Jewelry Store on Port Richmond Avenue at around 3 a.m., police said.
But the would-be thieves fled empty handed, authorities said.