(Photo: DCPI)
Aug. 29, 2018 By Tara Law
Police are searching for a bicycle-riding teenager who has been snatching cellphones out of the hands of pedestrians in Flushing this summer.
Police describe the suspect as a Hispanic boy who is between 16 and 18 years old. He is about 5 foot 10 inches tall and 160 pounds, and wears his hair in an afro. When last seen, he was wearing a blue hoodie, black pants and black sneakers. In all but one of the incidents, he took off on a black, white and red Eurobike.
The first theft allegedly took place on June 29 at around 10:50 p.m. near Saull Street and Maple Avenue. The suspect grabbed a phone from the hands of a 27-year-old man and pedaled west down Maple Avenue.
The teen struck again on July 8 when he approached a 25-year-old woman near Blossom Avenue and Main Street at around 9:35 p.m. and grabbed the woman’s phone out of her hands. He then rode his bike west down Blossom Avenue. The woman also lost $100 that had been inside her phone case.
The suspect’s next target was a 48-year-old woman in front of 132-69 Maple Avenue on July 20 at 12:25 a.m. He grabbed the victim’s phone out of her hands and knocked her to the ground before riding away on his bike. The woman was treated for minor injuries by emergency responders on the scene.
The teenager then went after a 19-year-old man near 139-07 Franklin Avenue on July 21 at 12:30 a.m. The suspect grabbed the victim’s phone and rode his bike west down Kissena Boulevard.
(Photo: DCPI)
Then on Aug. 1 at 12:40 a.m., the suspect approached a 46-year-old victim near Frame Place and Maple Ave. The suspect grabbed the victim’s cellphone and rode his bike west down Sanford Avenue.
The next day, the suspect approached a 55-year-old man near Juniper Avenue and Kissena Boulevard at 10:00 p.m. The suspect grabbed the victim’s phone and ran off on foot.
At 2:00 p.m. on Aug. 10, the suspect went up to a 30-year-old man in front of 132-45 Maple Avenue. The suspect grabbed the victim’s phone and rode his bike west down Maple Avenue.
The suspect then targeted a 29-year-old man near 134-38 Maple Avenue at 1:15 p.m. on Aug. 15. The teen grabbed the victim’s phone and biked away east on Maple Avenue.
A little after midnight on Aug. 20, the suspect went up to a 31-year-old man near 42-31 Colden Street, grabbed the victim’s phone and pedaled south down Colden Street.
The most recent theft took place on Aug. 24 at around 2:00 a.m., police said. The suspect approached a 47-year-old man near Blossom Avenue and Saull Street and grabbed his cellphone. The suspect then rode off on his bike west on Blossom Avenue.
Anyone with information in regards 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).
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3 Comments
This guy is a one person crime spree.
Pictures are good, bike is unusual so hopefully the police will be able to round him up pretty quickly.
If this bike was registered, insured and had a licence plate to ID it, this creep would have been caught! How many others does he have to rob or harm before he is caught?
This is a tough case to crack. We have a great photo of him, know the area were he lives, too. I wonder if the cops will figure it out!