Police arrested two teenagers on Monday for allegedly committing a string of robberies at smoke shops around New York, and police are asking for the public’s help in tracking down their accomplices.
NYPD officers slapped the cuffs on a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, charging them with robbery for their role in the alleged crime syndicate on Jan. 22, and at least one other perpetrator is still at-large for the crime pattern.
The first incident came at Blue Cookie Smoke Shop, located near 166 Orchard St. in Manhattan, when a group of people entered wielding hammers, mallets, and a firearm on Dec. 26. They then threatened a 19-year-old employee, before grabbing a box of marijuana products and running off.
Then, on Jan. 11 the group walked into a smoke shop located at 329 Avenue of the Americas, before displaying a knife to the 26-year-old male employee. They then looted around $1,500 dollars worth of products and ran off at around 3:40 p.m.
Days later, on Jan. 14, the group entered Moon Stage Smoke Shop located at 101 Lexington Ave. in Manhattan and stole the 23-year-old employee’s cell phone, before running off at around noon.
Later that day, they went to a bodega at 1450 East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx and took around $2,000 dollars from the register and $3,000 worth of merchandise while threatening a 53-year-old male store employee at 7:15 p.m.
The following day, they struck again at Soho Convenience Smoke Shop, located at 505 Broome St, at around 9 a.m. The group detained a 22-year-old female employee and stole various marijuana products before running off.
Police say the last robbery connected to the group came on Jan. 19, when they pushed a 21-year-old woman working at Grab & Go Smoke Shop at 333 Avenue of the Americas, before stealing $2,700 worth of products and fleeing at around noon.
NYPD officers say the two teens were responsible for at least some of those incidents, and their accomplices are still on the run.
None of their alleged victims were physically harmed, cops said.
Citywide, there have been 960 robberies recorded on the streets of the five boroughs so far this year — and uptick from the 913 such crimes during the first three weeks of 2023, according to police statistics.
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, on Twitter @NYPDTips.
