Police Blotter
SEVENTH PRECINCT
Bad remedy
Police are searching for a suspect for
questioning regarding the slashing of a
32-year-old man in a Lower East Side
eatery on Jan. 11. Around 4 a.m. last
Friday, at the Remedy Diner, at 245 E.
Houston St., two men got into an argument,
and one slashed the other in the
face and fl ed, according to police.
The victim was transported to Beth Israel
Medical Center in stable condition.
SIXTH PRECINCT
Friends like these...
While a West Village man was traveling
in China, he let a friend use his
apartment. The friend allegedly allowed
others into the place, and the 26-yearold
resident, while still away, subsequently
got notifi cations that fraudulent
charges had been made on a credit card
on Dec. 13. He canceled his cards and
returned home to 220 W. 14th St. to fi nd
fi ve credit cards and a pricey prescription
were missing. The alleged schemers
spent nearly $250 at Nobu Downtown
restaurant, at Broadway and Fulton Sts.,
according to police.
Subway swipe
Police arrested a man for allegedly
grabbing a 29-year-old woman’s wallet
from her hand at the West Side I.R.T.
subway station at Seventh Ave. and W.
12th St. on Tues., Jan. 8, around 8 p.m.
The suspect allegedly swiped the wallet
and fl ed out of the station eastbound.
The woman and another man chased
the guy down to try to prevent him
from leaving the station. But the culprit
then allegedly elbowed and pushed the
victim. Police arrested Percy Freeman,
COURTESY N.Y.P.D.
A surveillance-camera image of
the alleged Remedy Diner slasher,
who wore a White Sox baseball
cap that night.
42, and found that he had been on parole
until this past November for a previous
robbery.
Teens on teen
Two teens allegedly robbed a 16-
year-old’s wallet while walking in front
of 63 Bank St. on Wed., Jan. 9, around
3 p.m. Police arrested one of the teen
toughs, 17, but the other one, 18, fl ed.
The busted youth attends a high school
on the Upper West Side, and his mother
was notifi ed of the wallet grab. The
victim and perps were strangers, according
to the police report.
Mini carjacker
Police arrested Benjamin Orenstein,
46, for allegedly stealing a Mini Cooper
from the northeast corner of Bleecker
and Mercer Sts. on Thurs., Jan. 10, after
COURTESY N.Y.P.D.
A surveillance-camera image of
the alleged Remedy Diner slasher,
who wore a White Sox baseball
cap that night.
10 p.m. The car’s owner, a 45-yearold
New Jersey man, had parked at the
West Village spot that night. When he
returned an hour and 40 minutes later,
the car was gone. The vehicle’s last
known location was at E. Ninth St. and
Avenue D. Police searched for the Mini
Cooper, and found Orenstein driving
it and pulled him over at E. Fourth St.
and Avenue C. Orenstein is a repeat
theft offender, according to police.
FIRST PRECINCT
Soho break-in
Two men allegedly busted open the
locks at an apartment building at 94
Thompson St., between Spring and
Prince Sts., and tore into four Amazon
packages, removing the items and fl eeing
northbound on Thompson St. on
Sun., Jan. 6, just before 10 p.m. The
59-year-old man who reported the incident
noticed the boxes were ripped
open the next day. Police said a search
was conducted but to no avail since the
theft of the packages wasn’t reported
until two days after the alleged crooks
fl ed. About $200 worth of merchandise
was fi lched from the Lower Manhattan
building, according to police. No arrests
have been made.
Jacked jackets
Cops are searching for a man who
allegedly stole 10 Lululemon jackets
totaling $2,980 in value on Fri., Jan.
11, around 5:30 p.m. The man allegedly
picked up the pricey athleisure
items and walked out of the shop at
127 Prince St. without paying, according
to police. The suspect is described
as white, with a reddish/brown beard
and circular-frame glasses.
Art sharps
Police are searching for a man and
woman in their 20s for allegedly stealing
a $12,000 Ann Pibal painting from
Team Gallery, at 83 Grand St., last
week. On Thurs., Jan. 10, around 4:30
p.m., the female perp reportedly distracted
a 26-year-old male employee at
the gallery while her sidekick went into
the rear display room. After the two left
the gallery, the employee noticed the
painting was missing. No video footage
was available, according to police. The
man was described as white, 5-feet-11-
inches tall, 175 pounds and around age
25. The woman was said to be white,
5-feet-2-inches tall, 140 pounds and
around age 21 with a ponytail.
Sydney Pereira
Village man headed jewelry-theft ring: Feds
BY RICO BURNEY
A West Village resident has been
charged by federal prosecutors
for leading an international
bank and jewelry heist operation for
more than 10 years.
Damir “Damian” Pejcinovic and
three accomplices from Staten Island
and Queens were arraigned on 16
counts of attempted burglary between
2006 and 2017 and stole more than $10
million in jewelry during that time.
The New York Post reported that
Pejcinovic is being held in Brooklyn
after pleading “preposterous” to the
charges, instead of guilty or not guilty.
Others in his “enterprise” were released
on bail.
Pejcinovic was arrested by F.B.I.
agents at his West Village home this
past October.
Five of the 16 attempted robberies
Pejcinovic and his partners are accused
of conducting targeted Manhattan
jewelry stores. The most recent
was on New Year’s Eve 2016. The Post
reported that KGK Jewelers on W 36th
St. was robbed around midnight because
the criminals believed that the
police would be slow to respond due to
the nearby ball-drop in Times Square.
Three million dollars’ worth of jewelry
was stolen from that store alone.
Pejcinovic’s townhouse at 237 W.
Fourth St. between Charles and W.
10th Sts. was listed at $10 million
prior to his October arrest but has
since been taken off the market. The
Post reported that neighbors previously
viewed him as someone from the
Bronx “who made it and now lives in
the Village,” and speculated his money
came from real estate.
Pejcinovic’s wife also runs the upscale
Damian West Salon out of the
building. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew
K. Chan reportedly said in court
that his wife was in the process of separating
from Pejcinovic after he pled
guilty to “a violent felony arrest for a
domestic incident.”
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4 January 17, 2019 TVG Schneps Media