Police in the Bronx are searching for a suspect who stole nearly a dozen phones from women in a series of robberies spanning several months. The thefts, occurring in neighborhoods including Williamsbridge, Pelham Bay, and Castle Hill, often involved multiple robberies on the same day. One incident saw the suspect snatch an iPhone 12 Max from a 61-year-old woman in Kingsbridge; a local business owner, Elizabeth Santos, recounted witnessing the suspect observing the victim before the theft.
Surveillance footage captured another incident where a 34-year-old woman had her phone snatched outside her nail salon on East 199th Street. Santos described the suspect’s movements, noting he targeted victims in quick succession, stealing phones within a timeframe of 20 to 80 seconds. All the incidents occurred in September, and while the NYPD investigated them individually, two additional cell phone thefts were recently linked to this pattern. All victims were women.
In each case, the suspect used a moped to approach unsuspecting victims and snatch their phones. Police noted similarities between this crime spree and others involving Venezuelan gangs. This echoes a February indictment of a ring of thieves who stole cell phones and quickly drained victims’ bank accounts of hundreds or thousands of dollars.