July 16, 2024 By Bill Parry
Police from the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst are looking for a nighttime bike rider who has targeted pedestrians in two grand larcenies on Roosevelt Avenue in recent weeks. In both incidents, the perpetrator rode up alongside his victims on a white bicycle before snatching their property and riding off.
The latest incident occurred on Monday, July 1. A 30-year-old man was walking past 91-08 Roosevelt Ave. just before midnight when the perpetrator rode up beside him and snatched a necklace from his neck, police said. The chain snapped, and the suspect rode away from the location, traveling westbound on Roosevelt Avenue.
Investigators say this is the same man who struck nearly a mile to the east on the night of Thursday, June 27, when he rode up alongside a 26-year-old man who was walking in the vicinity of 108th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona at 8 p.m. and snatched his cell phone before riding off on the white bicycle southbound on 108th Street, police said. Both of the victims were not injured during the incidents.
The NYPD released a surveillance photo of the suspect onboard the white bike and described him as having a medium complexion, a slim build and dark wavy hair. He wore a gray t-shirt with a Reebok logo, a black baseball cap with an Adidas logo, dark pants and black sandals.
Anyone with information regarding these incidents 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 at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through July 14, the 110th Precinct has reported 577 grand larcenies so far in 2024, three fewer than the 580 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 0.5%, according to the most recent CompStat report.