Police Blotter

Empty gift
A New Jersey man told police that an acquaintance sold him a $1,000 gift card from Barney’s for $750, but when he went to the store at 236 W. 18th St. on Mon. Oct. 1, he learned that the gift card had been maxed out and was worth nothing.

Shop lifted
A shoplifter got away with a large quantity of One Touch Strips that detect blood glucose levels valued at $2,191 from the Duane Reade shop at 322 Eighth Ave. at W. 26th St. sometime before 6:45 p.m. Sun. Oct. 7, police said.

Shopping for fruit
A woman who was shopping at Chelsea Fruiteria in Chelsea Market, 85 Tenth Ave., on Saturday afternoon Oct. 6, had her wallet, with many credit cards and $400 in cash, stolen by an unknown thief, police said. The woman reported the incident seven hours later, after she learned from card companies that unauthorized charges were made on 15 credit cards at various locations.

D.W.I. in spades
Police stopped a driver after he drove onto the sidewalk on W. 29th St. at 4:30 p.m. Tues. Oct. 9, hit a trash can, then turned right onto 11th Ave. against traffic. “The defendant stumbled out of the vehicle, lost his balance and failed to stand straight,” the police report said. Fahem Shabaz, 24, was charged with driving while intoxicated.
Projector removed
A thief removed an Epson Multimedia Projector from its mounting on the ceiling of a Fashion Institute of Technology classroom at 227 W. 27th St. sometime after 6 a.m. Sun. Oct. 7, police said. The thief was able to bypass the projectors’ security cable.

Wallet gone
A Fashion Institute of Technology student told police that someone stole her wallet while she was in the F.I.T. student lounge around 5:45 p.m. Thurs, Oct. 4, but she was able to cancel her credit cards and cell phone service before any unauthorized charges or calls were made,

Resisting arrest
A police officer who was ordering an unruly man to leave the parking area on Pier 61 in the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment complex at 11 p.m. Sat. Oct. 6 had to make a 10-85 (officer in need of assistance) call on his radio when the suspect began fighting, police said. An assisting officer arrived and both cops were finally able to handcuff the suspect, Hector Labay, 24, who was charged with obstructing government administration and resisting arrest.

Office cleaner charged
Police arrested Alberto Batista, 34, on Thurs. Oct. 4, and charged him with the June 22 theft of computers and other office equipment valued at $3,000 from a 16th-floor office at 114 Fifth Ave. at 17th St., where he was working as a cleaner. He is being held on grand larceny charges pending grand jury action.

Car break-in
A man who parked his car on Washington St. at 13th St. in the Meatpacking District returned to it at 6:30 a.m. Tues., Oct. 2, and discovered a hole in the passenger-side window and that $15,000 in cash had been removed from the glove compartment, police said.

Brawlers arrested
An argument between two men outside 1 Little W. 12th St. in the Meatpacking District during the early hours of Mon., Oct. 1, turned into a fight in which both sustained injuries, police said.

Not helpful
A woman dining at Lasagna, 196 Eighth Ave. near 22nd St. at 7:30 p.m. Sat. Oct. 6, had her bag stolen, apparently by a man who bumped into her child’s stroller beside her chair, knocked it over and helped set it upright, police said. The victim lost her cell phone, Palm Pilot and $200 in cash, and an unauthorized charge was made on a credit card at the 23rd St. IND station for transit fare.

Retox beating
A man told police that he was a patron of Retox, a club at 511 W. 28th St. at 3 a.m. Fri Oct. 5, when six strangers beat him, took a watch, neck chain, earrings and a cell phone, all valued at $13,000.

— By Albert Amateau