Manhattan
A man named James Reefer was arrested on drug charges after cops saw him drinking beer in public in front of dozens of marked police cars in Chelsea, sources said Wednesday.
The 24-year-old was chugging a 24-ounce can of Coors Light right next door to the 10th Precinct station house on West 20th Street at about 5 a.m. on April 12, law-enforcement sources said.
It didn’t take long for a cop to come by and arrest him.
Then officers found a small bag of cocaine in Reefer’s possession, the sources added.
He was charged with possession of a controlled substance, and in court made a plea deal for drug treatment, the sources added.
A taxi passenger was attacked by a yellow-cab driver who illegally refused to take the victim from the Meatpacking District to The Bronx, sources said Wednesday.
The hack picked up the victim on Eighth Avenue near West 14th Street at 4:40 a.m. last Thursday
When the 30-year-old customer gave his destination as Van Cortlandt Avenue in The Bronx, the driver refused to go there and told the guy to get out, the sources added.
The passenger, knowing his rights, refused to exit, spurring the angry hack to pull him from the back seat and punch him in the face, the sources said.
The victim, who wasn’t seriously injured, failed to get the cab’s medallion number or the cabby’s hack-license number.
A student filed a harassment complaint against a creepy Chelsea professor with an odd idea of a come-on, sources said Wednesday.
The 30-year-old victim claims she visited the 60-year-old film teacher in a 13th-floor office on West 27th Street at around noon last Thursday, and the perverted prof allegedly zipped and unzipped his fly four or five times, the sources added.
The teacher never put his hands on the student, the sources said, and no arrest has been made.
A man carrying nearly $3,500 worth of personal belongings in a bag lost them to a thief at a Mediterranean eatery in Tribeca, sources said Wednesday.
The 25-year-old victim set down a messenger bat in Saleya on West Broadway at 8:30 p.m. last Thursday, the sources said.
When he got up to leave, he realized his bag was gone, along with his iPad Air, Dell laptop, Oliver Peoples eyeglasses, a laptop charger, iPhone charger and leather gloves, the sources added.
A woman cleaning out her car in Chelsea accidentally tossed away her keys, and someone found them and stole the vehicle, sources said Wednesday.
The 50-year-old woman threw trash from her car into a can on West 18th Street at 2 a.m. Sunday, only to realize about 90 minutes later that her keys were missing.
When she went back to where she had parked her $23,000, 2014 Honda Civic, it was gone, the sources added.
Staten Island
A New Springville man kidnapped a pal for a three-day robbery and drug spree, authorities said Wednesday.
Anthony Vaccaro, 43, got a ride from the friend at Beach and Bay streets at about 4 p.m. on April 14, before allegedly pulling a knife and sneering, “We’re going to make some stops. I’ll hurt your family and come after you if you run or even try.
“I’ll kill your mother if anyone shows up at my door,” he allegedly said, adding, “I’ll break all your bones and smash your teeth in.”
The victim gave Vaccaro his cellphone and wallet and chauffeured him to Lowe’s on Forest Avenue, where the thug swiped a bunch of tools, a Criminal Court complaint states.
Later, the friend-turned-hostage was forced to drive Vaccaro to the Walgreens on Manor Road, where the kidnapper stole alcohol pads and other pharmacy goods, the documents charge.
Vaccaro later fell asleep at the Staten Island Motor Lodge and was awoken by cops knocking on the door, sources said.
He dropped a crack pipe and a bag full of crack on the floor, records show.
Vaccaro was charged with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, robbery, petit larceny, criminal possession of a controlled substance and menacing, said a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.
After his arrest, Vaccaro was linked to the theft of socks, toothpaste, pants and a shirt from an area CVS, the sources said.
He has several prior arrests for crimes that include using a stolen credit card and drug possession, the sources added.
Brooklyn
Two men burglarized a Dumbo eatery, police sources said Wednesday.
The thieves broke into the rear entrance of Luke’s Lobster on Water Street near Furman Street sometime after midnight Friday.
They swiped two safe-deposit boxes and a safe, but it wasn’t known how much cash was inside.
Police recovered the safe, which is being tested for DNA evidence, the sources added.
Two people were seen on surveillance video leaving the restaurant shortly after the burglary.