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Police Beef Up Patrols in Forest Park After Jogger is Robbed

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | September 18, 2014 2:01pm
 Police released a photo of the suspect in a robbery in Forest Park.
Police released a photo of the suspect in a robbery in Forest Park.
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NYPD

QUEENS — Police are upping their patrols of Forest Park after a woman was robbed there while jogging earlier this week — adding more than a dozen officers to monitor the greenspace.

Forest Park has been the scene of a string of stun-gun sex attacks over the past several years and three robberies so far this year.

In a message sent to residents Wednesday night, officials from the 102nd Precinct said that "there will be an increased police presence in the park for the foreseeable future."

In addition to the three officers who are assigned to monitor Forest Park on a daily basis, police said they will also deploy two additional officers to patrol the park in a marked vehicle.

Ten other officers, including five from the precinct's anti-crime team, along with several auxiliary officers, will monitor the area primarily from late afternoon into late evening, police said.

The precinct said it has also requested two horses from the department's mounted unit. Recently, there was a push to bring the mounted unit back to the park.

The increased patrols will be reviewed weekly by police officials and may be adjusted depending on the situation, police officials said.

According to the 102nd Precinct, the 28-year-old victim of the recent robbery was running along the horse trails west of the Buddy Monument at Myrtle Ave. and Park Lane South when she was attacked around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.

The suspect ran up to the woman from behind and grabbed her by the mouth, police said.

The woman escaped the man's grasp and started running towards the main trail on Forest Park Drive. The mugger, who managed to steal her headphones, fled in the opposite direction, police said.

No arrests had been made as of Thursday morning.

Police described the suspect as 40-45 years old, 5-foot-8, weighing around 200 pounds and balding with blondish/grayish hair on the side. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeve gray shirt and baggy blue jeans.

Police have been patrolling Forest Park on a daily basis in the wake of six sexual assaults that took place there from 2011 to 2013. Investigators have linked those attacks to one man.

Tuesday's robbery does not appear to be connected to those incidents, according to the 102nd Precinct.

This week's mugging brings the number of robberies in Forest Park to at least three this year, according to NYPD statistics.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.