Crime Blotter

Bad Taste

"Vulgar" and "clueless" are the only words to describe 40-year-old George Drescher. Getting into an argument with some lowlife on Rivington Wednesday morning is one thing, but then he has to go and get stabbed, too? But no, that's not even it-then he has to go and drop dead right in front of Teany just before the morning rush? I mean, come on-didn't he know who owns this place? Wake up, people! If you want to go and get stabbed and die in front of a McDonalds or something, well that's your business. But this is Moby's tea room, you understand? This is a very particular clientele-and believe me, they aren't the types who like looking at stupid ugly corpses when they're trying to enjoy their morning scones, okay? I mean, really. Bad taste.

Grandma's Ladykiller

Early Sunday 20-year-old Sharlene Francis was babysitting her 2-year-old niece in East New York. At 7 a.m., she called 911 to say she was being attacked.

The cops showed up on the scene, but couldn't get in, and only got a machine when they tried calling. So they went away. Maybe they thought she'd gone out shopping. A few minutes later there was another 911 call from the same address, this one from a man saying that someone had broken in and attacked his babysitter. This time the man who made the call-36-year-old Richard Thorne, the child's grandma's boyfriend-answered the door, allegedly soaked in blood. He led cops to the bedroom, where a badly savaged Ms. Francis lay. She was still conscious, and remained so just long enough to tell the officers that Thorne was the one who'd raped, stabbed, and beaten her with a hammer-though maybe they'd have been able to work that one out for themselves.

Thorne was (eventually) arraigned on murder charges.

Home Improvement

Early Monday afternoon, a 51-year-old city caseworker from Russia had an idea.

Galina Bershadskaya lived with her husband and son in an apartment on the 17th floor of the Luna Park Houses on Surf Ave. She had the place to herself that afternoon, so she secured all five locks on the front door, and pushed the couch in front of the door for good measure. She then allegedly set two mattresses on fire, and jumped out the window.

Not Just Catholics?

On Wednesday, a city health inspector made a routine visit to a Baptist-run day camp in the Bronx. After knocking on the door, she was let in by 54-year-old Donald McKinnon, a National Park Service employee and convicted sex offender. McKinnon reportedly leapt on the inspector, choking and biting her before pulling a knife. The inspector seized the knife from McKinnon and stabbed him before extracting herself. He was later hunted down by police dogs and now faces multiple charges.