Four masked crooks allegedly carjacked a man at gunpoint in Astoria on Friday morning before driving off in the victim’s luxury automobile that also contained personal belongings that totaled an estimated value of nearly half a million dollars, according to authorities.
Police say the 34-year-old victim was driving a 2024 Rolls-Royce at around 5:20 a.m. on Oct. 24 when he pulled over at 35th Avenue and 31st Street to close his trunk that had popped open. Four men in a gray Dodge Durango SUV pulled up alongside his, and three got out of the vehicle while the fourth remained behind the wheel. As the three suspects approached the victim, one pulled out a firearm and made verbal threats. All three proceeded to forcibly remove the victim’s pricey Patek Philippe wristwatch, cellphones, a registered handgun and a car key, police said.
Two of the men sped away from the scene in the Dodge Durango while the other two drove off in the victim’s Rolls-Royce with Florida license plate #16FCWR, according to the NYPD. They headed eastbound on 35th Avenue toward Steinway Street.
Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria responded to the location and found the victim, who was not injured during the carjacking. The total value of the stolen property is approximately $491,000, police said.
A short time later, two of the suspects who drove off in the $400,000 Rolls-Royce were seen on video surveillance nearly nine miles south of the crime scene getting into the stolen vehicle inside a parking garage in the confines of the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, police said.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the two suspects inside the Brooklyn parking garage and described one as having a medium complexion who wore a dark hooded jacket and black sweatpants with white lettering down the legs. The second suspect has a medium complexion with a beard and mustache and was wearing a distinctive blue, gray and black sweater, blue jeans, black shoes and a dark knit cap.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the four perpetrators.
Anyone with information regarding this armed robbery investigation 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 Oct. 19, the 114th Precinct has reported 155 robberies so far in 2025, 94 fewer than the 249 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 37.8%, according to the latest CompStat report.
