The driver of a for-hire vehicle was robbed by two masked men in Springfield Gardens on the night of Monday, Dec. 15, according to authorities.
Police say the 55-year-old victim was approaching the intersection of 144th Avenue and 167th Street a block south of the JFK Expressway at around 10:10 p.m. when his two passengers requested a change of destination and attempted to snatch his cell phone. After a brief struggle, the suspects forcibly removed his cell phone and exited the vehicle and ran off eastbound on 144th Avenue toward 168th Street where they got into a black SUV and sped off in an unknown direction.
Police from the 116th Precinct responded to the location and found the driver uninjured. The value of the stolen cell phone is approximately $1,500 and the victim later discovered unauthorized charges totaling $7,473 were made through his Apple Wallet, police said.
The two suspects work light-colored hooded winter jackets and facemasks. One had a distinctive black tattoo on the back of his right hand and wore a light-colored ski cap while the other wore a Scally cap and had a black beard.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to their arrest and indictment.
Anyone with information regarding this 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 confidential.
Through Dec. 14, the 116th Precinct has reported 75 robberies so far this year, two fewer than the 77 reported at the same point in 2024, a decline of 2.6%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
