Cops are looking for this suspect, who is targeting young women in Sunnyside in a series of chain snatching in the last few weeks. Photo courtesy of the NYPD
Jan. 16, 2024 By Bill Parry
Police from the 108th Precinct in Long Island City are on the lookout for a moped-riding chain snatcher who has been targeting young women in broad daylight since late December.
The first incident took place on the morning of Friday, Dec. 8, when a 15-year-old girl was in the vicinity of 47th Avenue and 37th Street near Queens Technical High School along the Sunnyside-LIC border when the stranger rode up alongside her on a dark-colored moped and forcibly removed chains from her neck before speeding off in an unknown direction, according to the NYPD. The victim was not injured.
The perpetrator struck again on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 9 in front of an apartment building at 45-48 42nd Street near Corporal Thomas J. Noonan Playground in Sunnyside riding up to a 16-year-old and forcibly removing a chain from her neck before riding off northbound on 42nd Street toward Northern Boulevard. The victim was not injured, police said.
The suspect pulled off another robbery the following afternoon in Sunnyside Gardens where he rode up alongside an 11-year-old girl as she was walking in front of 49-18 39th Avenue at around 2:25 p.m. near Sunnyside Gardens Park. He forcibly removed the victim’s chains from her neck and rode off towards 48th Street on the dark-colored moped. The youngster was not harmed during the robbery, according to the authorities.
The fourth incident occurred during the morning of Thursday, Jan. 11 when the man rode up next to a 23-year-old woman as she was walking in front of 38-03 52nd St. near Barnett Avenue in Sunnyside and forcibly snatched a chain from her neck before riding away southbound on 52nd Street toward 39th Avenue. This time, the young woman was hurt, but refused medical attention at the crime scene, police said.
The NYPD released surveillance video on Tuesday that appears to show the suspect looking for his next victim. He was last seen wearing a black Adidas knit winter hat, a black hooded winter jacket tan pants and black sneakers. Anyone with information in regard 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). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, on Twitter @NYPDTips.
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