MANHATTAN — Police are searching for four men wanted for targeting a peep show, a porn shop and a grocery store in a string of fanny pack robberies along Manhattan’s West Side.
The group struck six times over the past year in Midtown and Chelsea, snatching hip-slung satchels—often by force—from people patronizing the Erotica, Vihan Video and the East West Grocery, police said.
The first two incidents took place in March of 2011 inside The Erotica at 336 Eighth Ave., near West 27th Street, when several suspects entered the building and grabbed two fanny packs within a week of each other.
This year, the fanny pack-swiping spree resumed. Three suspects again entered The Erotica, which is open 24 hours, around 5:15 a.m. on March 17 and cut a victim on his arm before grabbing his bag and fleeing, police said.
On April 1 around 2:45 a.m., the three suspects returned to The Erotica, struck a man in the back of the head and removed his fanny pack, police said.
Two days later, around 3 a.m. on April 3, one of the suspects ventured out on his own and struck twice, according to cops.
Inside 532 Ninth Ave., a grocery store near West 40th Street, the suspect claimed to have a gun and forced the victim to remove his wallet and to hand over cash from a nearby register.
An hour later, the suspect moved to Vihan Video, a peep show advertising "male viewing booths" at 592 Eighth Ave., and grabbed a pouch hanging from the victim’s waist and ran away.
It was not clear how much money has been stolen as a result of the robberies.
The four suspects are all men, thought to be in their 30s. One was estimated to be about 5-foot-9 with short black hair and a dark jacket. Another was described as about 6-foot-2.
Anyone with information in regard to any of on these incidents is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crimes Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
