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Police Looking for Subway Thief Who Fled into J Train Tunnel

By Allegra Hobbs | April 27, 2016 1:03pm
 Surveillance footage of the thief police say is preying on commuters.
Surveillance footage of the thief police say is preying on commuters.
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DCPI

LOWER MANHATTAN — Police are looking for a thief they say has snatched belongings from several commuters in subway stations along the border of Little Italy and TriBeCa. In one instance, the suspect disappeared into a subway tunnel after grabbing a man's wallet, authorities said. 

The man, described as standing at around 5-foot-8 and weighing 170 pounds, stole cash and other belongings from three unsuspecting straphangers between March 24 and April 10, police said.

The suspect approached a 30-year-old woman inside the Canal Street N and R subway station on March 24 at 12 p.m. and snatched a wad of cash, an iPhone and an ATM card from her backpack before fleeing, police said.

On March 29 at around 10:10 a.m., the same suspect approached a 59-year-old man who was walking up the stairs from the J train at Centre Street and took his wallet from his pocket before leaping onto the tracks of the northbound J train and fleeing into the tunnel, police said.

The suspect reappeared on April 10 at around 5:05 p.m. inside the Lafayette Street 6 train station, police said, where he picked the pocket of a 67-year-old man, pulling his wallet containing $400 and a debit card before hoofing it.

The investigation is still ongoing, authorities said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1(800) 577-TIPS (8477).