A 56-year-old woman was bull-rushed by two robbers who allegedly slammed her to the sidewalk and snatched her pricey designer handbag that was packed with thousands of dollars in Flushing more than two weeks ago, according to authorities.
On the night of Tuesday, July 9, police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing responded to an apartment building at 137-10 Franklin Ave., where the victim had been walking just before 10 p.m. when the two perpetrators, acting in concert, threw her down, police said. While she was lying stunned on the sidewalk, the crooks forcibly removed her Louis Vuitton handbag containing cash and other personal effects. An NYPD spokesman confirmed the contents of the designer handbag included $15,000 in U.S. currency.
The suspects then ran off in an unknown direction. The victim suffered minor injuries, including cuts and scratches to her hands as she tried to break her fall, and was treated and released by EMS at the scene, police said.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspects on July 24. One had yellow-dyed hair that matched his yellow sneakers and was wearing a black T-shirt with “Boss” in white lettering across the chest, dark sweatpants and a white face mask. His accomplice was heavy set and wore a gray T-shirt, dark shorts, black sneakers and a black face mask.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to their arrests.
Anyone with information regarding this robbery is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 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 21, the 109th Precinct has reported 194 robberies so far this year, 11 more than the 183 reported at the same point in 2023, an increase of 6%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Assaults are also on the rise in the precinct with 283 reported so far in 2024, 26 more than the 259 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 10.1%, according to CompStat.
