An eagle-eyed rookie cop nabbed a serial thief with a penchant for breaking into lockers at Big Apple gyms – only to learn that she was cut loose by a Manhattan judge who’s made headlines for setting two other violent attackers free, The Post has learned.
Kendra Christie, 27, of Brooklyn, was nabbed Friday for a six-incident spree dating back to early May and ending in late July – in which she allegedly stole gym patrons’ valuables from their lockers at gyms all across Manhattan, cops said.
Christie was walking around 9 p.m. Friday in the heart of Times Square – amid hundreds of people swarming the intersection of West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue – when the sharp-eyed rookie saw her and stopped her in her tracks, sources said.
Christie was carrying dozens of credit cards and a stolen Costco card on her when she was busted, according to the sources.
She was charged with six counts each of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, according to a criminal complaint.
Christie appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court Saturday, where prosecutors asked for $25,000 cash bail or $75,000 bond – because of her criminal history and failure to show up in court.
But Judge Marva Brown — who earlier this year released Amira Hunter, accused of smashing a bottle onto a subway cellist’s head — ruled to release Christie once again.
“It is sad that a sharp rookie cop makes a great arrest, and the suspect is released the next day,” a Manhattan cop told The Post. “The judicial system doesn’t care about these crimes, but they are quality of life crimes that affect hard-working New Yorkers.
“Someone tries to do the right thing and work out and then they come back and their valuables are stolen. I’m sure she’ll be back out there soon doing the same thing since there is no punishment.”
Christie – who was not a member of any of the gyms – was known to sneak her way into the facilities and then break into the lockers using a metal tool, sources said.
All of the victims in Christie’s latest spree were women in their 20s and 30s, and the Planet Fitness, Crunch Fitness and New York Sports Club gyms were located in Harlem, the Upper West Side, Chelsea and the Financial District, authorities said.
In every case, a bag or wallet was stolen – as were credit cards, and unauthorized transactions were made on the cards, cops said.
In addition to the usual items, jewelry, a cellphone, clothing and sunglasses were all taken in the latest case on July 29, at a Planet Fitness on Broadway near Broad Street – steps from the Wall Street Bull, cops said.
Christie has three open cases in Manhattan – one for taking a credit card from a gym locker and using it at CVS, another for stealing another card from a gym locker, and a third for using credit cards belonging to five people, the assistant district attorney said in court.
She was released in each case and missed an Aug. 6 court date, the prosecutor said.
Brown , the judge, also granted supervised release to Bryant Kenyatta, 50, accused of attacking podcaster Stevie Lew with nunchucks back in March.
“We don’t comment on release or bail decisions except to say that in cases like these in New York, judges have discretion in making these decisions in accordance with the law and based solely on an individualized assessment of a defendant’s risk of flight,” the New York State Office of Court Administration said in a statement Monday night.
