By Jeremy Walsh
At 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, the five suspects allegedly approached a girl walking home from school at Corona Avenue and National Street, punched her in the arm and face and stole her T-Mobile Sidekick, police said.Officer Jonathan Rosario of the 110th Precinct arrested the juveniles 15 minutes after the incident, police said.The Sidekick, featuring an MP3 player, a digital camera and a miniature keyboard, has a suggested retail price of $399.”The Sidekick is the No. 1 stolen phone,” said Deputy Inspector Thomas Pilkington, commander of the 110th Precinct, at the January community council meeting. “The Police Department would prefer students not bring them to school.”Other brands of phones and iPods are also hot targets and should not be brought to school, Pilkington added.Capt. John Rowell, commander of the 108th Precinct, which covers Sunnyside, Woodside and Long Island City, said youth-on-youth robberies have been a major problem in the area. He said the precinct is cooperating with the city Department of Education to establish a safety corridor along Queens Boulevard after school hours.”We put extra officers out there to make sure the kids get on the trains without incident,” Rowell said.Robberies were up slightly in the 110th Precinct for the 28-day period dating through Feb. 10, with 24 reported this year compared to 20 for the same period in 2007. In the 108th Precinct, robberies decreased in the month ending Feb. 10, with 15 in 2008 compared to 16 during the same stretch last year.Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
