Cops are looking for these suspects, who have allegedly robbed a cell phone store on Steinway Street in Astoria and other shops in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Photos courtesy of the NYPD
July 29, 2024 By Bill Parry
Police from the 114th Precinct are looking for a man and his female accomplice, who allegedly robbed an electronics store on Steinway Street in Astoria in broad daylight during the evening of Sunday, July 14.
Investigators say the same couple targeted a cell phone store in Brooklyn just over the Queens border in Ridgewood and another store in the Bronx. In each robbery, the man takes store merchandise while the woman sprays store workers with a caustic liquid when they try to stop him.
In the Astoria heist, the couple entered Moon Electronics at 30-69 Steinway St. at 5:30 p.m., where two store employees, a 22-year-old man and a 50-year-old man, showed the perpetrators two phones.
The man snatched the phones, valued at $1,950, while the woman sprayed the workers with an unknown substance. The couple fled the store and were last seen running southbound on Steinway Street toward Northern Boulevard. The victims sustained minor injuries and refused medical attention at the crime scene.
Most recently, the couple hit a cell phone store in the 83rd Precinct in Brooklyn, near Ridgewood, just before noon on Wednesday, July 24. The couple entered the store at 298 Irving Ave. and asked to see an iPhone.
When a 19-year-old woman showed them the phone, valued at $1,350, the man grabbed it while the woman sprayed her with the liquid. They ran out of the shop in an unknown direction. EMS responded to the crime scene and transported the victim to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition and treated for her minor injuries, police said.
The couple pulled the first of their three-borough robbery spree in the Soundview section of the Bronx when they entered the H and Y Wireless Communications store at 1522 Westchester Ave. just after 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 13.
Police from the 43rd Precinct reported that a 33-year-old man working in the shop showed them an iPhone; the man snatched it out of his hands while the woman sprayed him with the liquid as the two ran from the store and were last seen running westbound on Westchester Avenue toward the Bronx River. The victim sustained minor injuries and refused medical attention at the scene.
A police spokeswoman said Monday that it has not yet been determined what kind of liquid the duo has used in each of the robberies.
The NYPD released video surveillance of the suspects inside the Brooklyn shop. The man was checking out a cell phone while wearing a white hooded sweatshirt with an Olympic logo across the chest and dark pants. He is described as having a light complexion and slim build, approximately 18 to 20 years old and 5 ’10 ” tall.
The woman wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants and is described as having a medium complexion and a slim build, approximately 18 to 20 years old and around 5’4” tall.
The NYPD also released another surveillance image that shows the man running from one of the stores with a stolen cell phone in his hand. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and black shoes while the woman wore a white t-shirt, black sweatpants and gray sneakers.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to their arrest.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation 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 28, the 114th Precinct has reported 186 robberies so far in 2024, 30 more than the 156 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 19.2%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
Robberies are down in the 43rd Precinct with 282 reported so far this year, 21 fewer than the 303 reported at the same point in 2023, a decline of 6.9%, according to CompStat.
Robberies are on the rise in the 83rd Precinct with 207 reported so far in 2024, 16 more than the 191 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 8.4%, according to CompStat.
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