Warning - thief on bike evenings nr Park Pl + Vanderbilt

jeffrey

Well, I was thinking of dropping a MOD NOTE on him but decided otherwise.

arches

Yeah, thanks jeffrey. I was reading the thread from work, otherwise I would have been out there lending a hand in the "perp search"....next time!

No sign of him when I got home around 10:30p.

supreme_ian

this is possibly the most insane thread ive ever read..

all these sightings n shit like this dude is a damn celebrity !

did anybody get a good camera phone pic of him or his outfits?

with all this new age bullshit im sure this asshole could have a few of us arrested for stalking him and then have the nerve to try and sue !!!
ahahahah

but seriously how did he manage to elude the cops the few times ppl spot him and flag down a cop..

losers like this must be caught and first beat the fuck down then arrested !
we need that OLD brooklyn justice system back of when ppl

TOOK CARE OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS !!!!

jeffrey

By the way, the back of his jacket looked a lot like this:

(pic courtesy of Drjays.com )


***edited to add:

The letters and design on the back of the thief's jacket looked a lot more faded than the one shown in the Drjays.com picture above.

whyfi

supreme_ian wrote: losers like this must be caught and first beat the fuck down then arrested !

+1

goodprospect

so what happened when you got the police, Jeffrey?

jeffrey

I was actually able to get them twice.

The first time I called 911 after observing him stalking several people with intent to do the usual.

A police vehicle arrived, he saw it and got off his bike and started walking away (right past the police vehicle). After he walked by them I went up and let them know I'd called 911 and that the phone snatcher guy had just walked past them up Vanderbilt, pointed him out and gave them a full description. They radioed for help and made a u-turn to go after him. Then a moment later I saw him riding fast the other way down Vanderbilt. He probably saw them coming his way and turned around and quickly rode the other direction.

A moment later the second and third police cars arrived together with the first car following where he went down Vanderbilt, lights flashing to cross the Park Place intersection. No luck, he got away. But as usual, he came back to that exact same location at the corner of Park Place at Vanderbilt less than 10 minutes later.

The second time I trailed wayyy behind him in a vehicle down Park Pl, a minute or two after I saw him following someone down towards Underhill. He turned on to Underhill and sat at Sterling where jarvis reported seeing him above. I arrived at Underhill a minute or two later and happened to notice him heading back in the direction of Park Pl and Vanderbilt and stopped my car next to an oncoming police car at Sterling and Underhill to let them know, again giving detailed description. They sped off and apparently got very close to him since a lookout buddy in an upstairs apartment window near Park Place and Vanderbilt told me a minute later that a cop car arrived right after the lookout started watching him again and when he finally turned and saw the police car coming he threw his bike and himself under a car to hide, getting away again after they rode by not seeing him.

He disappeared for a few minutes then came back, but at that point I had to leave.

The way to catch this guy is actually without a squad car. A few plain clothes folks would bag this guy in no time flat, he is that brazen, repetitive and predictable. And utterly *impossible* to miss.

These were just the two times I spoke to police officers about him.

But I (and several others) saw him go up and down the block, using the corner of Park Place and Vanderbilit as a hub, stalking slowly behind different people probably well over 30 times in plain view of all others walking there in the nearly two hours I was there.

catwalkertexasranger

None of the places of business that he posted himself in front of have CCTV cameras ? How many of these jacket/bicycle/physical described people are there in this 20 block area? If the police won't help a stick or sturdy umbrella will cause your perp to make sweet love to the pavement when applied to his front wheel. If you know it's him a small squirt of pepper spray or mace will make his daily bike rides much less enjoyable and for sure less profitable. To follow anybody who robbed/punched you for 90 minutes shows a lack of fear, and the 40 people you thought may be slashed/punched/stabbed/shot or just scared should probably get some forewarning if you know they are in danger. Just an opinion

jeffrey

By the way, he changes bikes. Prior reports here have him on a tall, red mountain bike.

Last night he was on a low, silver bmx bike.

jeffrey

And by the way, myself and the others involved were warning everyone on the sidewalk that was on the phone or using their ipod with headphones on.

whynot_31

jeffrey wrote: By the way, he changes bikes. Prior reports here have him on a tall, red mountain bike.

Last night he was on a low, silver bmx bike.

thanks.

catwalkertexasranger

If he has not changed his race,height, or jacket he should get a head rub with a 2x4. Point now and always warning people on phones or jamming to music is too simple. The guy might have changed his MO without giving public notice. While he is not snatching personal electronics he may have stolen or traded for a gun, so that he can achieve the next level of OG.People who break into apts and cars are one type of person a guy who allows you to see his face and profile while committing a violent act is someone to be feared. When one of the people he pushes or punches has on their Baby Bjorn this will be way different and way to late

jeffrey

catwalkertexasranger wrote: If the police won't help a stick or sturdy umbrella will cause your perp to make sweet love to the pavement when applied to his front wheel. If you know it's him a small squirt of pepper spray or mace will make his daily bike rides much less enjoyable and for sure less profitable.

No one knows if he's carrying a weapon. Even if I had 3 other big guys in on this on the street with me (which I didn't) it still would not be the brightest move. This has to be in tandem with the police who are trained for any outcome. To suggest any other response is mere armchair speculation.

catwalkertexasranger wrote: To follow anybody who robbed/punched you for 90 minutes shows a lack of fear, and the 40 people you thought may be slashed/punched/stabbed/shot or just scared should probably get some forewarning if you know they are in danger. Just an opinion

Again, the best thing to do absent more support is to increase awareness and try to remain unnoticed while observing him until appropriate law enforcement folks can take over, staying just close enough to spoil his plans to pounce on anyone if he starts to corner anyone.

Sure, it's a game of cat and mouse at the moment. But we want this guy caught and not just able to injure someone -- or even sue someone else for injuring him -- right?

It did certainly help to have lookouts in other locations he passed.

With enough awareness and concern, hopefully the neighborhood will sprout more eyes.

catwalkertexasranger

I agree with you for the most part. The lawsuit thing should be dismissed if indeed he is the person that robbed you. I commend you on your confusion for the protection of this POS's civil rights. A guy who punches men.women and children during the act of a violent crime should be considered as a drain on the air we breath. Trying to get into the mind of a person who does this for a hobby or a living is another failed pursuit. There is no good reason for this. Cats seldom ever release the mice they catch without killing or mauling them. I hope nobody else gets hurt,robbed or killed while this scientific approach is pursued. No matter what method is used I hope this clown can be stopped. I vow to drop flowers at the site if he is crushed by a city bus .Just to show I am civil

jeffrey

catwalkertexasranger wrote: I commend you on your confusion for the protection of this POS's civil rights.

I commend you on your confusion that anyone is trying to protect this creep or his civil rights.

The only thing going on here is that I (and a few others) had some time to be around to try to help catch this guy and do our best to make sure that others were not harmed last night.

But yeah, a person can daydream about what they'd do.

sweet tea

okay, my little vigilantes (just those of you proposing beat-downs and the like):

supreme_ian, whyfi: i have met loved ones of yours, and i can't see explaining to them that i encouraged you to get yourselves injured, so you are OFF THE CASE. you especially, whyfi -- i am terrified of what mrs. whyfi would do to me if she heard that.

catwalker: don't know the first thing about your family, so you go right ahead.

ps, supreme_ian, where you been? i miss seeing your crazy, drunken-jay-skateboarding ass.

jeffrey

Wait...I need *both* whyfi and supreme_ian for their camera abilities.

catwalkertexasranger

Agree with both of you. I don't want Mrs Wifi to get a visit from the cops telling of injury to her man or his do gooding pals. Additionally without knowledge of ones family in your view one should act out on high risk behavior,that's your view that's fair. As was said above most of my daydream views are exactly that. When anybody tries to harm me or my family or friends I assume that they intend to do great damage and act accordingly.. The drum beat of most of these posts are that up to now people have lost teeth,days of work, but for the most part dignity and personal electronics. The awareness that many posters have brought to the forum is very valuable. I hope that it will assist the police in catching this POS. The problem that I see is that the bike riding DB is not responsible for all the mayhem in the area, these violent crimes should be solved 1 at a time but the atmosphere of thugery is considered normal is the main issue.I hope they catch this guy amongst others .

sweet tea

jeffrey wrote: Wait...I need *both* whyfi and supreme_ian for their camera abilities.

they can take pictures, as long as they promise to keep their distance -- whyfi, i don't care how good your macro lens is.

you may need to tie whyfi's shoelaces together, so he doesn't decide to rush at the guy at the last minute.

in the even of similar behavior on his part, supreme ian can likely be distracted by a picture of a girl in high heels. (don't even pretend that's not true, supreme.)

whyfi

jeffrey wrote: Wait...I need *both* whyfi and supreme_ian for their camera abilities.

I'll bring a Canon L-series lens - they can generally double as a bludgeon.

Sweet Tea - awwww - love you, too.

...but I would intervene if I happened along while this guy was in the act - don't get me wrong, I'm not going to sit on a fire escape with a cape and a utility belt, but...

sweet tea

only because you don't have a fire escape.

whyfi

^^^ you HAVE been talking to my wife, haven't you?

whynot_31

the trick to taking pictures of a person who does not want to be photographed is to take lots of them.

...take pictures of cars, trees, parking meter, guy with above jacket on bike slowly following female....

No one questions the behavior of a local crazy guy with a camera.

jeffrey

WhyFi wrote: I'll bring a Canon L-series lens - they can generally double as a bludgeon.

a.k.a. Long Lens of de LAW

Your superhero name shall be:

F-Stop

whyfi

oooOOOO - I like it! But I need a catch-phrase... something like,


"Go ahead - make my frame."

jeffrey

Why not something like SAY CHEESE! just before you bop them on the head?

whyfi

Nah, I'm not going for that Adam West Batman vibe...

lincolnannex

Just finished sharpening my pitchfork, when do the festivities begin tonight?

whynot_31

I think we first need to agree not to yell at him unless he's about pounce on a victim.

...the point is to get him caught by the police and/or prevent an assault.

The point is not to simply to scare him into moving his routine to a different location.

So, the approach Jeffrey took seems like a good one. ...a photo for the cops wherein the identity could be confirmed by an actual victim (not just Jeffrey) would be excellent.

arches

A stroll down Vanderbilt by either of these guys would be sure to the party started!



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