The Bronx
Cops are investigating two Hunts Point burglaries that targeted laundry-card machines. A man broke into 667 Casanova St. at around 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 27 and removed the laundry-card dispenser containing cash. In a similar attempt a few blocks away on Dec. 8, a burglar got inside 1012 Garrison Ave. through an unlocked door at around midnight and caused damage to the laundry-card dispenser. Somebody broke into a Fordham Heights store and stole nearly $1,000 in cash and other items, police sources said Sunday. The crook entered ZamZam Drugs at 229 E. Kingsbridge Road at around 7 p.m. Thursday through a side door and removed a Sony Laptop, $120 in bills, $800 in quarters and assorted candy and soda, the sources said.
Brooklyn
A man was caught on surveillance camera stealing a wallet out of a jacket at a deli in Sheepshead Bay. The crook walked into the store at 1603 Avenue U at around noon Jan. 5 and left with the wallet containing a debit card, identification and cash that he had lifted from a coat that was hanging inside.
Manhattan
An armed robber with a penchant for Newport cigarettes appears to have struck at least twice this month, police said Sunday. The man walked into the Tri-Rite Deli at 353 Ave. of the Americas in the West Village just after midnight on Jan. 4, displayed a black gun and demanded money, the sources said. He left with cash and a pack of Newports, the sources added. The next day at about 8 p.m., a robber entered the Unique News variety store at 218 Broadway just off of City Hall Park and displayed a black firearm, cops said. He demanded money from the clerk and then fled with a pack of Newports, they said. The crook is about 35 years old with a light complexion. He is 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9 and about 180 pounds. He was wearing a black mask and a black jacket.
A 43-year-old man was slashed in the face after he told two men he didn’t have a cigarette, police sources said Sunday. The victim told cops he was approached from behind by two men at 321 W. 136th St. and that one of the men asked him to spare a smoke. When he said he didn’t have any, the other man cut his face. He suffered a 7-inch wound, cops said. He ran to Harlem Hospital and received several stitches, the sources said.
A retired cop has been charged with firing his weapon at a moving vehicle in Murray Hill, police sources said Sunday. Paul Cunningham, 74, who retired from the NYPD in 1982, was seen firing his Kel-Tec .380-caliber handgun just past midnight Saturday at East 37th Street and Second Avenue, the sources said. He was observed by two traffic agents, who called their supervisor and 911, the sources said. There were no injuries, and the gun was recovered.
A gunman demanded cash from an employee at Little Ceasars Pizza in East Harlem, cops said Sunday. The employee complied, and the thief grabbed cash before fleeing the store on Dec. 20. The man is in his 30s, 5-foot-8 and about 150 pounds. He was wearing a green, hooded sweat shirt, a sleeveless jacket and black jeans.
Queens
A 57-year-old livery cab driver was robbed at gunpoint in Ridgewood, police sources said Sunday. The robber pulled a gun on the driver at 11 a.m. Friday at 1733 Linden St. and took $100.