POLICE BLOTTER
Hey copper!
Burglars broke through a plywood door into a construction site loading dock at 346 W. 17th St. near Ninth Ave. on Fri., Feb. 8 and stole 2,400 feet of pure copper wire valued at $7,200, police said. Maritime Hotel shares the loading dock with the construction site.
Chelsea drug violations
Police arrested Heriberto Ortiz, 24, at 2 a.m. Sat., Feb. 9 on Eighth Ave. at W. 22nd St. and charged him with possession of a controlled substance. Ortiz was carrying an unlit marijuana joint in his hand, and a glass pipe with crack residue was found in his jacket pocket, police said.
David Cora, 38, was arrested at 3:45 a.m. Wed., Feb. 6 at the corner of 10th Ave., and W. 26th St. and charged with misdemeanor possession of cocaine, police said. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 7 and was sentenced to time served.
Hiro punch-ups
Police arrested Michael Osterhout, 29, at 1:45 a.m. Mon., Feb. 11 at Hiro, the club at 363 W. 16th St., and charged him with assault for punching a 25-year-old Yonkers man in the nose. At 4 a.m. Sun., Feb. 10 police arrested Joseph Naiman, 31, for hitting another Hiro patron in the head with a bottle. The victim, 34, of Brooklyn, had just entered the club and got into an argument with the suspect, who was being held by club bouncers, police said.
Club brawl
Police arrested three men at Home, the club at 532 W. 27th St., and charged them with assault in connection with a fight in the club at 3:15 a.m. Sun., Feb. 10. The suspects punched three other patrons, police said. Joseph Meyer, 23, punched three of the victims, and Matthew Maffia, 23, and Angelo Borello, 22, punched two of the victims, police said.
Student bullied
The mother of a 16-year-old Brooklyn student at Bayard Rustin High School, 321 W. 18th St., told police on Fri., Feb. 8 that her son was afraid to go to school because other students bullied and constantly pushed him. She is seeking a school transfer for safety reasons.
Lotus fracas
A patron of Lotus, 409 W. 14th St., was arrested for punching another patron, 38, at 3:40 a.m. Sun., Feb. 10 when the victim tried to intervene in an argument between the suspect and a woman patron, police said. Paul Salazar, 36, was charged with assault, and the victim was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital, police said.
Argues with bouncers
A patron of Marquee, the club at 289 10th Ave., got into a fight with a club employee at 4 a.m. Sat., Feb. 9 when he was struck on the back of his head, police said, The victim, who received cuts in the scalp, said he suspected that a bouncer clocked him.
ID theft
A resident of 415 W. 15th St. told police on Sat., Feb. 9 that he went to apply for benefits at the city Human Resources Administration office on W. 14th St., where he was told that someone else was receiving benefits under his Social Security number.
Threatens officer
A 10th Precinct officer on the West Chelsea club detail at 2:45 a.m. Sat., Feb. 9 said, “Go home” to an inebriated reveler who came up to him on 27th St. west of 10th Ave. shouting that he had just been ejected from a club. The man declined the advice, tried to throw a hot dog at the officer and threatened to shoot him with the officer’s own gun. The officer managed to handcuff the suspect, Yuri Kharlamov, 39, who refused to show ID, and charged him with obstructing government administration.
— By Albert Amateau
