Snatch-and-run suspects wanted for pair of UES thefts | Upper East Site, NYPD (inset)
Snatch-and-run suspects wanted for pair of UES thefts | Upper East Site, NYPD (inset)

Bold Snatch-and-Run Thieves Target Victims on the UES in Broad Daylight: NYPD

A bold pair of snatch-and-run thieves, one of them clad in flip flops, are targeting victims on the Upper East Side, according to the NYPD. So far, investigators say they’ve snatched one man’s computer while he wasn’t looking and almost also got away with a woman’s bag, with electronics inside.

Police say the pair of suspects act as a team, one of them swiping their victim’s property while the other acts as the getaway driver, sitting behind the wheel of a black Dodge Challenger with— you guessed it— a temporary paper tag on the back which is likely untraceable.

The suspected getaway driver is seen in black Dodge Challenger, according to police | NYPD
The suspected getaway driver is seen in black Dodge Challenger, according to police | NYPD

The first snatch-and-run heist was back on Saturday, August 6th, according to detectives, near York Avenue and East 72 Street.

It was just before 4:00 pm that afternoon, after a 59-year-old man said he had placed his MacBook computer on the ground while opening the door to his building. That’s when police say one suspect— dressed in all black— grabbed the laptop, then jumped in the waiting Dodge Challenger and took off. 

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Surveillance images show one suspect wearing what appears to be slide-on flip flops, which aren’t exactly the best shoes for making a quick getaway— and police say that’s what happened when the duo struck again on the UES a few weeks later.

One snatch-and-run theft suspect is seen wearing slide-on flip flops | NYPD
One snatch-and-run theft suspect is seen wearing slide-on flip flops | NYPD

On Monday, August 29th, investigators say the duo tried their snatch-and-run routine with a 32-year-old woman, grabbing her bag— which contained electronics— from behind and ripping it from her grasp.

This time around, police say the suspect didn’t get away from the scene, near East 80th Street and Madison Avenue, so easily— the woman who had just had her property stolen chased down the suspect and was able to get her bag back.

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Thankfully, no one has been hurt during these thefts, according to police. Both suspects are described by police as men with a slim build in their early to mid-twenties. One suspect wears all black while the wheelman is seen in a green shirt.

If you recognize the suspects in these thefts or have any information that could help police, you’re asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477.

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4 Comments

  1. Every mural, picture, whatever else is up around the city that says black lives matter need to be torn down, ripped up or painted over. A picture is worth 1,000 words – every crime in this city that happens is committed by those who think their lives matter but nobody else’s does. Change the bail laws to get these animals off the streets away from innocent people, hardworking people and the elderly. How many more people are going to be assaulted, shot by mistake or beaten so badly that they die from their injuries? How many more families have to suffer?

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