Report: Crime spree features suspects being friendly with their drunken victims

Thieves rob drunk LES bar-goers by just asking for their stuff, police say: https://t.co/F6Cuax8pNt pic.twitter.com/r0Hs1YdqlG

— DNAinfo New York (@DNAinfoNY) October 19, 2017

DNAinfo has details on a crime spree of sorts happening on the Lower East Side:

A group of thieves has been robbing drunken revelers by befriending their marks and pilfering their pockets when they pass out or by simply asking them to hand over their goods, police said.

Details about one one of the victims:

[O]n Sept. 16 around 2 a.m., a group of three men befriended a highly intoxicated 23-year-old man from Boston as he left Hair of the Dog at 168 Orchard St. near Stanton Street, police said.

As they all walked down Orchard Street, one of the men asked the victim for his phone so he could store his contact information in it, police said.

The victim handed it over, but was then was distracted by the other two men, who asked him for his wallet, which he also gave them, police said.

Later, the man noticed his debit and credit cards had been taken, according to a police report. He never got his phone back.

The victim told police the suspects hopped in a car after the theft, but he couldn't remember where he last saw them before they fled.

[Updated] 10th Street fire now treated as a crime scene

Following up on our previous post... there was a heavy police and fire presence on 10th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C this afternoon. One witness reported a fire. According to a commenter: "I just spoke to someone working on site who is the 'board up guy'... he said a man set his apartment on fire right before shooting himself." (Please keep in mind that none of this has been officially confirmed by police or fire personnel.)

Reliable sources have confirmed this story... The man was believed to be living in an apartment on the top floor... more details will follow... Police are currently at the scene, and are remaining tight-lipped — not even responding to queries from neighbors here.

While standing here, several fire trucks pulled up... but the crews didn't stay long...

More to come...

Patrick Hedlund has more information at DNAinfo. Per his story: "Authorities at the scene said that a man on the building's fourth floor, where the fire started, had shot himself in the head and died. Police said they didn't know if there was a link between the shooting and the fire. The NYPD and FDNY could not confirm that information."