Metro

Daily Blotter

Queens

A man was shot outside an East Elmhurst strip joint where a DJ who has performed with a popular rap group was performing, police said.

The 25-year-old victim was outside Perfection on 30th Avenue near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway at about 4 a.m. Monday when a gunman opened fire, striking him once in the torso, cops said.

The shooter fled in a white sport utility vehicle and the victim got himself to an area hospital, where he was expected to survive, authorities said.

No arrests have been made.

The strip club hosts DJ Paul, who has performed with Three-6 Mafia, known for the hit, “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp.”


A suspect has been picked up in connection with a string of knifepoint robberies in Forest Hills and Kew Gardens, where victims have been put into bearhugs by an armed creep, sources said.

Police believe the suspect shoved a 21-year-old victim against a fence on Lefferts Boulevard in Kew Gardens, pulled out a box cutter and demanded her purse on Feb. 11 at about 12:30 a.m.

The next day, the alleged attacker popped out of a dark sedan on Continental Avenue near Dartmouth Street, put a 39-year-old woman in a bearhug and threatened to cut her at about 11:45 p.m., police added.

He snatched her pocketbook and fled, according to cops.

Last Wednesday, he allegedly put a 39-year-old woman in a bearhug on Austin Street near 71st Road in Forest Hills at about 1:45 a.m., pressed a sharp object against her, stole her purse and fled in a dark sedan.

No injuries were reported. The suspect hadn’t been charged as of Monday night.


Brooklyn

Two thieves used a woman’s credit card to buy $2,741 worth of gift cards and candy at a store in Sheepshead Bay, cops said.

The duo entered the Walgreens on Brighton Beach Avenue near Surf Avenue on Feb. 13 at about 6:30 p.m. and paid for the purchase with a credit card in a 27-year-old ID-theft victim’s name, police added.

The woman’s credit card had not been stolen and it’s unclear how thieves obtained her information, cops said.

The first suspect is believed to be about 6-foot-1 in his 20s or early 30s. He was last seen wearing a white baseball cap and black and white sneakers.

The second suspect is believed to be in his 20s and about 5-foot-11.

He was last seen wearing a blue denim jacket, dark-colored jeans and red and white sneakers.


Staten Island

A man accidentally fired an illegal handgun and shot through a painting inside his neighbor’s house in Great Kills, authorities said.

A resident on Dewey Place heard a gunshot on Jan. 10 at about 7 p.m. and found a bullet hole in the living-room wall and in artwork that was hanging on it, law enforcement source said.

When investigators traced the trajectory to John Croce’s home, the 54-year-old told investigators that he took out his .40-caliber semiautomatic Taurus pistol to clean it when he accidentally shot a round into the wall, a Criminal Court complaint charges.

Croce said he had removed the clip and picked the gun up by the trigger, without realizing there was a bullet in the chamber, and accidentally let off one round, court records state.

Investigators found the pistol in the dresser and discovered Croce does not have a carry permit, the documents state.

Croce was charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition, and criminal mischief, a spokesman for the Staten Island District Attorney’s Office said.


A man pulled a knife on a 42-year-old man outside a methadone clinic in Prince’s Bay and when cops went to arrest him, they found drugs and stolen property from a string of car break-ins, authorities said.

Angelo Guadarrama, 34, was on the corner of Seguine Avenue and Hylan Boulevard on Jan. 10 at about 9 a.m. when he allegedly pulled a knife on someone saying, “I’m going to kill you.”

When cops searched him, they found 30 bags of heroin and stolen credit cards from a string of robberies in New Springville, a Criminal Court complaint charges.

Those victims reported more than $1,000 worth of property stolen, including diamond earrings, credit cards and gift cards.

Guadarrama was charged with drug possession, weapon possession, menacing, grand larceny, petit larceny and possession of stolen property.