MANHATTAN — Police are searching for a pair of violent muggers who struck twice within an hour this week, beating a pair of victims before robbing their cell phones and other items, police said.
The two male suspects attacked their first victim about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday on West 10th Street between Hudson and Bleecker streets, just down the block from the Sixth Precinct stationhouse, police said.
The pair socked a 30-year-old man in the face before making off with his cell phone and wallet, police said. The victim was treated at Roosevelt Hospital and released.
About an hour later, the two men approached a 26-year-old man standing in front of 2 Penn Plaza on Seventh Avenue near West 33rd Street around 2:30 a.m., punching and kicking him before swiping his iPhone and fleeing the scene, police said. The victim declined medical attention.
Police described the suspects, who were caught on subway surveillance cameras, as between 25 and 35 years old. One of the men is described as standing between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-9, with a clean-shaven face, police said. The other is described as standing between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot-2, with a beard, police noted.
Robberies in the Midtown South Precinct have risen slightly, to 29 this year through March 11, compared with 27 incident during the same period last year, according to NYPD data.
Overall major crime in Midtown South is down more than 10 percent during the same period, from 525 total incidents in 2011 to 471 total incidents this year.
Robberies in the Sixth Precinct, which covers Greenwich Village and the West Village, have risen slightly, to 27 this year through March 11 compared with 25 during the same period last year, NYPD data shows.
Overall major crime in the Village is down slightly during the same period, from 252 total incidents in 2011 to 250 total incidents this year.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
