Car stolen with keys
A company van was stolen from a Tribeca street in the middle of the day on Wednesday. The car was parked in front of 415 Washington St. between Vestry and Laight Sts. on March 6.
The driver, 31, was an employee of Wood Flooring by Walsh, LLC based in Ridgefield, N.J. He told police that he parked the vehicle at about 3 p.m. The vehicle, a silver 2005 Toyota Sienna van with N.J. plates, was parked, unlocked with the keys in the ignition but not running. When he came back for it ten minutes later, it was gone.
In addition to the $3,000 van, he also lost an $8,000 floor sander and $600 of wire for the machine. There was no sign of forced entry on the scene or video footage. A police canvas turned up negative.
Layaway get-away
One business was the victim of a scam that allowed the thief to carry off $5,500 worth of merchandise.
An employee of the Soho store Curve at 83 Mercer St. told police that a well-dressed young man entered the store at about 6 p.m. on Wed., March 6. He told her he worked for VH1 and wanted to put some dresses on layaway for one of his clients. When she went back behind the register, she heard the front door of the store open and the alarm go off. When she returned to the front of the store, she noticed that the jeans, a dress and the man were gone.
She described he thief as a young black man with green eyes, about 5’6”, dressed in dark green pants and a black jacket.
Grand theft restaurant
A $12,500 deposit destined for the bank was sidetracked from a Soho restaurant last month, but neither employee claims to have seen it.
Police reported that an employer from a 23 Grand St. restaurant had contacted the N.Y.P.D. on Wed., March 6 to inform them of the missing money. The employer told police that the general manager had taken the cash out of the safe to give to the accountant for deposit on Feb.4. Both parties that handled the money said they did not have it. They discovered that the deposit had never been made when they received a bank statement at the end of the month.
Jean thieves
A shoplifting spree on a grand scale at True Religion Brand Jeans resulted in the theft of 37 pairs of jeans, not to mention three T-shirts.
Police reported that four men entered the Soho clothing store at 132 Prince St. at 11:22 a.m. on Tues., March 5. A female employee reported that the employees tried to stop them from removing the property, but were unable to prevent them from stealing multiple items and fleeing eastbound down Prince St. No weapons were displayed and no injuries were reported. The merchandise was worth $12,519 in all.
Handbag hit-and-runs
Two designer boutiques in Soho were targeted by shoplifters who carried off handbags with hefty price tags.
The first theft occurred at the Michael Kors boutique at 132 Prince St., on Fri., March 1 at 7:43 p.m. An employee of the store reported that three men entered the store when one of the men, wearing a teal baseball cap and red sweatshirt, grabbed six handbags and fled. The other two also ran out. The merchandise totaled $2,700, including a Miranda navy bag that was $1,200.
A second store was hit a week later on Sun., March 10 at 5:30 p.m. This time, an employee of Barneys NY Co-Op at 116 Wooster St. told police that a young man entered the store and grabbed two Alexander Wang handbags totaling $1,720. The employee saw him leave the store and get into a White Nissan Maxima sedan with N.Y. plates.
— KAITLYN MEADE
