Cops are looking for five crooks who are said to be behind a series of robberies in Manhattan.
Authorities say that the pattern began on March 15. At 8:30 p.m. that night, a 19-year-old male delivery employee was leaving 644 Riverside Drive on his electric bike when he was approached by an unknown man. The man pushed the victim off of his bike and rode away in an unknown direction.
The victim was not injured as a result and the bike had an estimated value of $1,600.
The next incident took place at 12:45 a.m. on March 27. At this time, a 20-year-old male delivery employee was leaving 322 West 108th Street on his electric bike when he was approached by five unknown men. One of the suspects pulled out a knife, pushed the victim off of his bike and rode away. The victim was not injured as a result.
The suspects struck again at 8:20 p.m. on March 31 – at this time, a 19-year-old male delivery employee was on his electric delivery bike in the vicinity of West 163rd Street and Edgecombe Avenue when he was approached by two unknown men. One of the suspects pushed the victim off of his bike, which had an estimated value of $1,100, and rode away. The victim was not injured as a result.
The next incident took place on April 8. At 12:45 a.m. that day, a 29-year-old male delivery employee was leaving 115 Payson Avenue on his electric bike when he was approached by three unknown men. One of the suspects pulled out a knife and pushed the victim off of his bike, which had an estimated value of $1,500, before riding away. The victim was not injured as a result.
Police say that at 7:55 p.m. on May 3, 28-year-old man was delivering food inside 353 Fort Washington Avenue when he was approached by the five men. One of the suspects pulled out a knife and demanded the victim’s property. The victim complied and the suspects fled with his electric bike and $250. The victim then followed the suspects to West 179th Street, where they abandoned the bike. The victim was not injured and retrieved his bike.
At 8:55 p.m. that same day, a 36-year-old man was delivering food to 11 Fort George Hill when the crooks confronted the victim. The suspects pulled out a knife and took the victim’s $1, 400 bike. The victim sustained a minor cut to the hand and refused medical attention.
Finally, at 9:30 p.m. on May 18, a 42-year-old male delivery employee was delivering food in front of 1090 Saint Nicholas Avenue when the five suspects approached him at knifepoint and demanded property. The victim complied and handed over his electric bike and his cellphone, valued together at $2,000, and the suspects fled the scene northbound on Saint Nicholas Avenue.
Police released photos and videos of the suspects taken from the second and seventh incidents:
The five suspects are described as Hispanic men in their late teens to early 20s and were all last seen wearing dark clothing.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or on Twitter @ NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
