They got taken for a ride in more ways than one.
A number of cab passengers were held up by two men in a series of 14 armed robberies across south Queens dating back to March, police announced.
The NYPD released on Wednesday night video footage of two men wanted for the holdups, many of which targeted individuals who had just exited the livery cabs.
In each incident, police said, one of the suspects produced a firearm and demanded cash. They stole various sums of cash as well as credit cards and cell phones before fleeing on foot. Except for one instance, all of the robberies occurred during early morning hours between 1 and 6 a.m.
Authorities describe the suspects as black males in their 20s who were last seen wearing hooded sweatshirts.
The earliest and most recent incidents in the robbery pattern occurred in Richmond Hill. At 3:05 a.m. on March 3, the crooks stole $500 in cash from a 26-year-old man in front of a home on 118th Street south of Atlantic Avenue.
Then, at 1:15 a.m. on April 11, they robbed 43-year-old man of $1,100 in cash, credit cards and a cell phone in front of an apartment building on 97th Avenue at 120th Street.
Police described the other robberies in the pattern as follows:
- At 5 a.m. on March 6, the bandits robbed a man of $270 in cash in front of a home on 121st Street off Hillside Avenue in Richmond Hill.
- At 2 a.m. on March 10, the crooks stole $100 in cash and a cell phone from a 36-year-old man in the area of Hillside Avenue in Jamaica Estates.
- At 5:15 a.m. on March 10, the bandits grabbed $1,000 in cash, two cellphones and credit cards from a 22-year-old man in front of a home on 85th Avenue near 165th Street in Jamaica.
- At 3:15 a.m. on March 14, the suspects stole $400 in cash, a cellphone and credit cards from a 34-year-old man in front of a home on Gothic Drive near 168th Place in Jamaica.
- At 1:55 a.m. on March 16, the duo grabbed $700 in cash, a cellphone and credit cards from a 40-year-old man at the corner of 118th Street and 89th Avenue in Richmond Hill.
- At 2:25 a.m. on March 20, the crooks took $300 in cash, a cellphone and credit cards from a 45-year-old man at an undisclosed location within the confines of the 107th Precinct.
- At 10:25 p.m. on March 22, they stole $200 in cash, a cellphone and credit cards from a 45-year-old man at an undisclosed location within the 102nd Precinct’s confines.
- At 1:30 a.m. on March 23, they removed $202 in cash, a cellphone and credit cards from a 43-year-old man at an undisclosed location within the 107th Precinct’s confines.
- At 3 a.m. on March 23, the bandits stole $230 in cash and credit cards from a 58-year-old man at an undisclosed location within the confines of the 105th Precinct.
- At 5:25 a.m. on March 31, the crooks removed $200 in cash, a cellphone and a wallet from a 42-year-old man in front of a home on Homelawn Street near Henley Avenue in Jamaica Estates.
- At 5 a.m. on April 9, the suspects grabbed $220 in cash, a cellphone and a credit card from a 58-year-old man at the corner of Gothic Drive and 169th Street in Jamaica.
- At 5:20 a.m. on April 9, the perpetrators took $500 in cash, a cellphone and credit cards from a 27-year-old man at the corner of 89th Avenue and 150th Street in Jamaica.
Anyone with information regarding the robbery pattern or the suspects’ whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit their website or send a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
