Police Blotter
SIXTH PRECINCT
Up in smoke
An employee stole from the Village
Vape & Cigar store at 171 W. Fourth
St. on Mon., Nov. 26, at 10 p.m., police
said. An employee at the shop told
police that a man who was working
there removed $3,585 in cash from an
uncovered container on the counter behind
the register and stuffed the bills
in the front of his pants. He then left
at the end of his work day. Video footage
was retrieved, and on Dec. 10, Sai
Gunukula, 27, was arrested for felony
grand larceny. None of the stolen cash
has been recovered.
Dad arrested
There was a family assault at an apartment
at 10 Bethune St. on Tues., Dec.
11, at 10:45 a.m., according to police.
A young man, 14, said that after coming
home from school, his father pushed
him, “causing him to go fl ying,” according
to the report. The boy was found on
the fl oor and said he couldn’t move because
his back hurt, and that he could
not move his legs. Henry Sidel, 50, was
arrested for misdemeanor assault.
Got to the point
There was a robbery at the Rite Aid
store at 501 Sixth Ave., between W. 12th
and 13th Sts., according to a police report.
On Sat., Nov. 24, at 8:45 p.m., a
man entered and took two bags of candy
off the shelf, then left without paying.
A male employee, 50, confronted the
shoplifter, who then displayed a needle
and said, “Get the f--- away from me.”
The man fl ed northbound on Sixth Ave.
There were no injuries and video footage
was available. On Dec. 12, Alan Betances,
41, was arrested for felony robbery.
Police are looking for this alleged cat abuser.
Sweet justice
Three women robbed the candy shop
It’s Candy at 665 Broadway, earlier this
year on Wed., Feb. 21, around 7 p.m.,
according to police. After the three
women entered, an employee asked
them to leave. One of them responded,
“Who is going to stop me? I will
mace you right now,” and then showed
a mace bottle. The employee backed
away, and two of the women then took
two items valued at $15 each and they
all fl ed north on Broadway. The sweettoothed
trio were fi nally caught and
arrested Dec. 12 for felony robbery.
The police identifi ed them as Khristin
Davis, 20; Shaniaya Simmons, 20; and
Naquanna Cooper, 22.
FIFTH PRECINCT
Un-fur-tunate
Police are searching for a man who
allegedly left a cat inside of a sealed
bucket in the vicinity of Hester and
Centre Sts. On Thurs., Dec. 13, the
man, described as Asian and last seen
wearing a sweater and jeans, allegedly
left the feline in the closed bucket
around 7:30 p.m. and fl ed north on
COURTESY N.Y.P.D.
Centre St., according to police. Upon
further investigation, police found the
cat malnourished and that the bucket’s
lid had a hole.
FIRST PRECINCT
Shoe store swipe
Police are searching for two men for
robbing the Bruno Magli shoe store at
120 Wooster St. The store’s 24-year-old
employee reported that two men stole
nearly $2,000 worth of merchandise
— two bags and a pair of shoes — last
Thurs., Dec. 13, around 4 p.m.
Grab-and-go
Two women allegedly robbed the
Christian Dior boutique at 105 Greene
St. of a $2,850 handbag on Thurs.,
Dec. 13, around 3 p.m. Police said a 24-
year-old store employee reported that
one perp distracted the sales associate
while another removed the handbag
and concealed the item inside another
bag. No arrests have been made.
Gabe Herman
and Sydney Pereira
The Villager (USPS 578930) ISSN 0042-6202 Copyright © 2018 by City Media LLC is published weekly by City Media
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HQ founder dies in Soho
BY GABE HERMAN
Colin Kroll, co-founder of the
popular app HQ Trivia, died of
an apparent drug overdose at his
Soho apartment Sunday morning, Dec.
16, police said.
Kroll, 34, was found in his bedroom
at 56 Spring St., between Cleveland
Place and Mulberry St., after his girlfriend
called authorities after not hearing
from him, according to the Daily
News. Cocaine and heroin were reportedly
found nearby him.
The popular app HQ Trivia was
started in August 2017 and involves
users competing in a live trivia game,
with winners getting cash prizes.
Many reactions poured in on Twitter,
including from HQ Trivia co-founder
Rus Yusupov.
“I will forever remember him for
his kind soul and big heart,” Yusupov
tweeted. “He made the world and internet
a better place.”
Scott Rogowsky, comedian and host
of HQ Trivia, also posting on Twitter,
called Kroll “a true visionary,” adding,
“I will forever be grateful for his
friendship, his leadership and his belief
in me.”
Kroll also co-founded Vine — a
popular video clip-sharing app — in
2013, and worked previously at Twitter,
where he was accused of inappropriate
conduct toward women. He told
Axios this February he hadn’t sexually
harassed anyone, and said he was fi red
for “poor management.”
“I now realize there are things I said
and did that made some feel unappreciated
or uncomfortable,” he said. “I
INSTAGRAM
Colin Kroll was the co-founder of
HQ Trivia and also Vine.
apologize to those people.”
Last Sunday night’s HQ Trivia game
was canceled, and host Rugowsky went
on the app to share thoughts about
Kroll.
“Colin was an animal lover,” he said.
“He’d sometimes bring his dog Tater
to the offi ce. As such, we are donating
what would have been tonight’s
$25,000 cash prize to the Humane Society
in Colin’s honor and memory.”
Kroll’s death is the latest high-profi
le overdose incident Downtown. Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman OD’d on
heroin in the West Village in 2014, and
movie star and Soho resident Heath
Ledger died of an accidental OD of
prescription medications in 2008.
“New York City got to him a little
bit,” father Alan Kroll told The New
York Times, adding his son was working
too hard. “All that leads to getting
too much drugs or...overdosing.”
A bouquet of fl owers had been left
in the lobby of his Spring St. building
Tuesday morning.
4 December 20, 2018 TVG Schneps Media