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South Bronx Thief Targeting Bus Passengers' Beats by Dre Headphones: Police

By Eddie Small | February 25, 2015 4:49pm
 A thief in The Bronx is stealing Beats by Dre headphones from Bx41 passengers, police said.
A thief in The Bronx is stealing Beats by Dre headphones from Bx41 passengers, police said.
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DNAinfo/Eddie Small

SOUTH BRONX — A thief who targets people wearing Beats by Dre headphones snatches them off of his victims while they wait to board the Bx41 bus, according to police.

Over the past week and a half, the suspect has stolen two pairs of the famed headphones off of bus passengers by the Hub in the 40th Precinct, according to Deputy Inspector Lorenzo Johnson, the squad’s commanding officer.

“He just gets them while they’re either waiting for the bus or getting on the bus,” he said. “He grabs them off their heads, and he runs.”

The two thefts took place on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. by 3rd Avenue and 150th Street and on Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. by 147th Street and 3rd Avenue. Both victims were men between 20 and 30 years old.

Police believe the same person committed both thefts, but do not have a good description of the suspect yet, apart from the fact that he is a man.

It can be tough for victims to get a quality description of the suspect during thefts like these, according to Johnson.

“They really don’t know,” he said. “All they know is it’s gone, and then they see the back of somebody’s head.”

The thefts demonstrate how important it is for people to be aware of their surroundings rather than engulfed in their cell phones, Johnson said.

Beats was officially established in 2008 and consists of famed rapper Dr. Dre's headphones, speakers, software and streaming music subscription service. Headphones range from roughly $200 for the Solo2 model to roughly $700 for the Glass Gold Edition.

Anyone with information about these thefts can call the 40th Precinct at 718-402-2555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES), then entering TIP577.