Police from two western Queens police precincts are looking for a pair of armed robbers who targeted several people miles apart in just over an hour last week.
Police from the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights reported that the first robbery occurred at around 2:40 a.m. as a 34-year-old man was walking home in the vicinity of 37th Avenue and 71st Street when he was approached by two strangers who punched him in the face, displayed a firearm and forcibly removed $3,000 in cash, his gold chain, his cell phone and his wallet, an NYPD spokesman said.
The two men jumped on a two-wheel scooter and sped northbound on 71st Street toward Northern Boulevard. EMS responded to the scene and treated the victim.
About 20 minutes later, a 29-year-old man was delivering food on his two-wheel scooter when he was approached by the two suspects near 75th Street and 30th Avenue.
One of the assailants took his delivery bag and punched him in the face, displayed a handgun and took the victim’s cell phone and wallet that contained an unknown amount of cash, according to the NYPD spokesman. His accomplice grabbed the victim’s two-wheel scooter and they sped away southbound on 75th Street toward Northern Boulevard. EMS responded and treated the victim at the crime scene.
The armed robbers struck again an hour later, nearly three miles away, at Queens Plaza North and 29th Street in Long Island City.
Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria reported that a 25-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were waiting for an Uber when the suspects approached them and forcibly removed her purse, their cell phones, air pods, card holder and a passport before fleeing westbound on Queens Plaza North. The couple was not injured and the value of the stolen property is unknown, according to the police spokesman.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the perpetrators on Saturday. One suspect is dressed in all black with a face covering. The second suspect can be seen with the stolen delivery bag from the second incident in Jackson Heights. He was wearing a gray vest over a black hoodie, jeans and dark shoes. He was also wearing a face covering.
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 at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Apr. 21, the 115th Precinct has reported 93 robberies so far in 2024, 19 more than the 74 reported during the same period last year, an increase of 25.7%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Robberies are also on the rise in the 114th Precinct . Through Apr. 21, there were 111 robberies reported so far this year, 36 more than the 75 that were reported during the same period in 2023, an increase of 48%, according to CompStat.
