Cops are looking for these suspects, who are allegedly part of a carjacking crew that targeted drivers in Astoria, Long Island City, and Sunnyside since February. NYPD
March 18, 2025 By Bill Parry
Police from two Western Queens precincts are looking for four members of a vicious carjacking crew who have stolen seven vehicles, all at gunpoint, since February.
The perpetrators have no compunction against pistol-whipping any of their victims who hesitate to follow their demands. The latest incident occurred in Astoria on the morning of Sunday, March 9.
Police from the 114th Precinct reported that a 28-year-old man was behind the wheel of a Range Rover with three passengers in their early 20s in the vicinity of 34th Street and 34th Avenue when two strangers approached them at around 5:30 a.m.
They pulled out handguns and threatened to shoot the driver if he didn’t hand over the keys to his vehicle. The armed robbers forcibly removed his car keys, all of the victims’ cell phones, and other personal property and kicked them out of the Range Rover, which they drove away from the scene eastbound on 34th Avenue toward Steinway Street. None of the four victims were injured during the encounter.
A week earlier, on the morning of Sunday, March 2, the carjackers targeted a 45-year-old man in front of the Five Star Banquet Hall at 13-05 43rd Avenue in Long Island City when four men approached his vehicle, displayed a firearm, and demanded his property.
They forcibly removed the victim’s gold ring, necklace, cell phone, and vehicle keys, and they drove off in his car in an unknown direction. The victim was not injured during the incident.
A day earlier, during the morning of Saturday, March 1, at the same location in the confines of the 108th Precinct, a 24-year-old man was behind the wheel of a BMW sedan in the vicinity of 43rd Avenue and 13th Street, the same block where the Five Star Banquet Hall is located.
Three men approached the vehicle at around 5:15 a.m. and displayed a firearm while demanding the driver and his 21-year-old female passenger hand over their property. The driver did not comply and got pistol-whipped in the back of his head. The suspect forcibly removed their debit and credit cards and a cell phone before driving off in the BMW sedan traveling northbound on 13th Street toward Queens Plaza. The driver sustained minor injuries but did not require hospitalization, police said.
Two weeks earlier, on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 15, police from the 114th Precinct reported that a 21-year-old man was driving a gray sedan westbound on 35th Avenue towards Kaufman Astoria Studios and the Museum of the Moving Image when three men approached his vehicle at the intersection of 38th Street at 5:15 a.m.
One of the suspects pulled out a handgun and demanded jewelry from the motorist and his 30-year-old male passenger, and pistol-whipped the driver in the back of his head before taking off in his car westbound on 35th Avenue toward 31st Street. The victim sustained minor injuries but was not hospitalized, police said on Friday.
The crew first struck in the confines of the 108th Precinct in Long Island City on the morning of Monday, Feb.10, while a 36-year-old man was gassing up his BMW at the Speedway station at 39-02 Queens Blvd. at 6 a.m. when two strangers approached him, pulled out a handgun and demanded the keys to his vehicle. When the driver hesitated, one of the thugs smashed him in the face with the firearm and drove off in his BMW, traveling eastbound on Queens Boulevard toward Roosevelt Avenue. The victim sustained minor injuries but was not hospitalized.
Investigators say members of the same crew stole a 38-year-old man’s BMW in the confines of the 28th Precinct in Harlem on the morning of Monday, Jan. 20, in front of 24 Mount Morris Park West. They also stole a 32-year-old woman’s Acura TLX from in front of 2175 Cedar Avenue in the confines of the 52nd Precinct in the Bronx on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 13. Neither of those motorists were injured.
The NYPD released surveillance images of two of the suspects on Friday. One wore a face covering and a white jacket with black detailing. The other wore a face covering a black hooded jacket.
Anyone with information regarding these carjackings 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 confidential.
Through March 16, the 108th Precinct has reported 31 robberies so far in 2025, 18 fewer than the 49 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 36.7%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are on the rise in the precinct, with 51 reported so far this year, eight more than the 43 reported at the same point in 2024, an increase of 18.6%, according to CompStat.
Through March 16, the 114th Precinct has reported 29 robberies so far in 2025, 37 fewer than the 66 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 56.1%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are up slightly in the precinct, with 124 reported so far in 2025, one more than the 123 reported at the same point in 2024, a decline of 0.8%, according to CompStat.
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