NORTHERN MANHATTAN — Police in the 34th precinct are asking for help identifying a thief who they say pretended to chat on his cell phone before swiping a woman's purse.
Police say the suspect followed a 22-year-old woman into her apartment building at 9:18 p.m. on Aug. 27 and pretended to talk on his cell phone while waiting for the elevator. When the woman took the stairs, cops said the man ran up behind her and stole her pocketbook before fleeing, cops said.
The suspect is believed to be between 20 and 30 years old and was last seen wearing a blue baseball cap, striped sneakers, a black t-shirt and blue shorts.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) log onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or text 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577.
