Manhattan
A homeless man terrorized passengers on a subway train in Soho before stealing a backpack from one of them, sources said Tuesday.
The man was walking from car to car on a southbound No. 1 train near Houston and Varick streets at 2:30 a.m. Friday when he announced to one rider, “I’m homeless. I haven’t eaten in three days.”
The panhandler then tapped a sleeping 26-year-old man on the shoulder and asked, “Are you awake?”
When the victim failed to respond, the beggar plucked the man’s backpack from the floor and strolled off, the sources said.
A German tourist’s $1,500 camera was stolen in a classic pickpocket ruse on a crowded street in lower Manhattan, sources said Tuesday.
The 22-year-old woman snapped pictures near West Broadway and Broome Street, then put the camera into her bag at around 5 p.m. April 28, the sources said.
Moments later, she felt someone bump into her but thought nothing of it.
When the woman later reached for her phone, she realized her bag was unzipped and her Canon camera and $400, 28mm Voightlander lens were gone, the sources said.
A garbage-truck driver was ripped off while he collected trash near the South Street Seaport, sources said Tuesday.
The 46-year-old driver stepped out of his truck on Fulton Street for a few minutes at around 8:30 a.m. Friday. When he returned, his cellphone, wallet, credit cards and work identification had been snatched, the sources said.
Thieves stole nearly $4,000 in tools from a contractor in Tribeca, sources said Tuesday.
Workers had put their circular saws, a nail gun and other gear into a locked box in the basement of a Laight Street building.
They discovered the tools missing days later, at around 4:30 p.m. April 30, the sources said.
A diner’s iPhone was stolen after she left it unattended in a crowded tapas restaurant in Tribeca to go to the restroom, sources said Tuesday.
When the 32-year-old woman returned to her table at around 5 p.m. Friday, the $440 phone was gone, the sources said.
Police on Tuesday released this photo of a woman suspected of using false identification to get a credit card and charge $10,000 in goods at a Midtown store that sells high-end watches.
The thief made the pricey purchase at Tourneau on Madison Avenue at around noon March 10.
The Bronx
Three goons beat and robbed a livery driver in Morris Heights after the hack told them and a female companion that they all couldn’t fit into his car, authorities said Tuesday.
The cabby had just dropped off a fare on Andrews Avenue near West 176th Street at around midnight April 18 when the three men and woman piled into the car’s back seat, police said.
The driver told the foursome there wasn’t room for more than three passengers.
One man moved to the front passenger seat, and when the cabby asked him to get out, the thug punched him in the face, cops said.
The driver got out and ran, but the thugs chased him down and kicked and beat him before fleeing, according to cops.
When the driver returned to the car, he found cash was missing from his console, police said.
The driver was not seriously injured.
A New Haven, Conn., teenager has been charged with the sexual assault and robbery of a 61-year-old woman in her Highbridge apartment building, authorities said Tuesday.
Cops said Moises Granados, 19, followed the woman into her building at Walton Avenue and East 168th Street at around 6:30 a.m. April 25 and assaulted her.
The teen then snatched the victim’s purse and fled, officials said.
Granados was arrested Monday and charged with robbery, grand larceny and criminal sex act.
Queens
Two thieves snatched a woman’s cellphone and credit cards in Forest Hills, police said Tuesday.
The victim, 61, was at Queens Boulevard and 67th Drive when one of the perps snatched her phone, credit cards, driver’s license and MetroCard, cops said.