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NYPD investigating several strings of robberies and burglaries across NYC
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jan 10, 2025
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José A. Alvarado Jr. / Gothamist
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jan 10, 2025
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Police say they're investigating at least four strings of recent robberies and burglaries across New York City that have targeted stores and pharmacies as well as people on the streets and in apartment buildings.
While the sprees do not appear to be connected, police said they have resulted in some injuries and thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen property.
No arrests have been announced in connection with any of the sprees, which occurred from early December to early January across four different boroughs.
They come as NYPD data shows robberies and burglaries declined overall in the city from 2023 through 2024, with robberies down 2% and burglaries down 6%. Those trends continued in the first week of this year, when robberies dropped 26% and burglaries dropped 20% compared to the same period last year.
Queens and Brooklyn pharmacy burglaries
Three suspects broke into drug stores across northeastern Queens — from Flushing to Fresh Meadows — in eight incidents in December, according to the NYPD.
Police said the suspects gained entry by breaking glass front doors or busting through locked roll-down gates, and stole cash, lottery tickets and drugs including morphine and aspirin.
The last location they burgled was a pharmacy in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, where they stole $2,400 and various narcotics on Dec. 20, according to police.
In many of the cases, the suspects fled in a gray Infiniti sedan, the NYPD said.
Brooklyn knifepoint robberies
Four other suspects are wanted for robbing people at knifepoint in stores, apartment buildings and on the subway throughout Brooklyn’s Flatbush and Midwood neighborhoods, into the start of the new year, police said.
Officials described the suspects as three men and a woman, who are thought to be in their late teens or early 20s.
In most of the incidents, one member of the group approached a victim, brandished a knife and demanded property, the NYPD said. Police said the person sometimes punched the victim until they surrendered valuables like cellphones, cash and credit cards.
The group twice robbed employees inside the Foot Locker across from the Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn College subway station, along with people inside an apartment building on Nostrand Avenue and Glenwood Road, according to the NYPD.
In one instance, they allegedly robbed a woman on a northbound 2 train at the Newkirk Avenue-Nostrand Avenue station.
Jewelry and cellphone robberies at gunpoint in Manhattan and Queens
In a series of robberies spanning from Corona, Queens, to Inwood, Manhattan, police said they were looking for one suspect who worked with at least two others to steal jewelry, wallets and cellphones from people on the street at gunpoint.
The incidents happened between Dec. 31 and Jan. 5 on 97th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, outside Herbert H. Lehman High School in the Bronx, on Broadway and West 231st Street in the Bronx, and at Broadway and West 207th Street in Inwood, police said.
Two of the victims were injured after the suspects struck them in the head and pushed one to the ground, according to officials, but they were not seriously hurt.
Whitestone home burglaries with a hammer
Police were also looking for two people who they said broke into two homes in Whitestone, Queens, stealing expensive jewelry and attacking a 37-year-old man with a hammer and knife.
In the first incident, at 3 a.m. on New Year's Day, the NYPD said the duo broke through the living-room window of a house near Second Avenue and 147th Place. Once inside, they took jewelry worth $25,000 and fled in a gray vehicle, according to officials.
The suspects returned to the neighborhood four days later, on Jan. 5, when they allegedly used a hammer to break through the front window of another home at 1 a.m. They encountered the 37-year-old resident, struck him with a hammer and stabbed him in the back before stealing jewelry and clothing, police said.
The suspects fled in a gray Toyota Sienna, and the victim was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital in stable condition, according to the NYPD.
Police are encouraging anyone with information on the recent incidents to contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted on the Crime Stoppers website.
This story is based on preliminary information from the NYPD.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
manhattan
bronx
brooklyn
queens
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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