The Bronx
A heartless thief scammed an elderly woman out of $8,500 in Foxhurst, authorities said.
The con woman approached the victim, 75, near Westchester and Intervale avenues at around 4 p.m. Dec. 16 and said she had a winning lottery ticket, but was unable to cash it in due to her immigration status, cops said.
The victim agreed to cash in the ticket, but was told that she first had to fork over her own money as collateral until she returned with the winnings.
The unsuspecting woman withdrew $8,500 from her bank account and gave it to the thief, who fled, cops said.
The scammer is described as a Hispanic woman who is 5-foot-4 and 150 pounds.
A woman’s cellphone was snatched while she was riding a bus in Belmont, authorities said.
The 22-year-old victim was sitting on a BX 12 bus as it was passing Fordham University at East Fordham Road and Washington Avenue just before midnight Nov. 22 when the thief ripped the phone from her hand as he was leaving the bus, cops said.
The crook is about 40 years old and approximately 5-foot-8. He was wearing a navy-blue jacket with a red stripe across the chest and a green hooded sweat shirt underneath.
Two brutes beat and robbed a man in Morris Heights, authorities said.
The 61-year-old victim was entering the elevator of his building at West 175th Street and Montgomery Avenue at around 6 a.m. Dec. 15 when the thugs (one of whom is pictured right) followed him inside, cops said.
When the doors closed, one of the men began choking and punching him while the other dug through the victim’s pockets and removed his cellphone and $5 in cash, cops said.
Both thugs are believed to be around 27 years old and 5-foot-8.
One was last seen wearing a red jacket with fur around the hood. The other had on a black jacket with a dark hood.
Brooklyn
A man was killed by a hit-and-run driver while crossing a Crown Heights street, authorities said.
The unidentified victim was crossing Eastern Parkway near Buffalo Avenue at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when he was struck by a black four-door sedan.
The driver stopped momentarily before fleeing, cops said. The man was rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Manhattan
Employees at a Midtown restaurant got a nasty surprise just before closing when a thief barged in with a gun and robbed the place, authorities said.
The thug walked into the Pret a Manger on Park Avenue near East 32nd Street at around 8:30 p.m. Dec. 11, pulled out a gun and demanded money, cops said.
He then marched all of the employees to an upstairs office, where he pocketed some cash before fleeing, cops said.
The crook is believed to be in his 20s, about 5-foot-9 and s around 150 pounds, cops said.
He was last seen wearing a black, hooded jacket with a black scarf around his face.
Queens
A man was shot dead while walking home in South Richmond Hill on Sunday, authorities said.
Gerrard Edwards, 23, was walking down Liberty Avenue near 112th Street at around 3:30 a.m. when his killer approached and pumped bullets into his chest before fleeing, cops said.
Edwards was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police have identified the suspect wanted in the fatal shooting of a man in Astoria earlier this year, authorities said.
Lawrence Scott (right), 28, is believed to have shot Francisco Leal, 27, twice in the chest as Leal was coming out of a liquor store across from the Queensbridge Houses on 21st Street at around 10 p.m. Feb. 2, cops said.
Surveillance video shows Scott raising his gun before he and an accomplice chase Leal a short distance and gun him down, officials said.