ASTORIA — Police are searching for a man named Pablo Escobar who they say ripped a gold chain off the neck of a 4-year-old girl in Queens on Friday, according to the NYPD.
The 22-year-old thief — who happens to share the name of the late notorious Colombian drug lord — was caught on video approaching the child in front of a laundromat on 36th Avenue near 31st Street in Astoria at 6:15 p.m.
He can be seen crouching down to speak to the child before snatching off the necklace she was wearing and leaving, police said.
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Witnesses identified the man as Pablo Escobar, police said. He was known to hang out in Ravenswood, Queensbridge and Dutch Kills Park, they added.
He was previously arrested in Manhattan last month for intent to fraud, according to authorities. Details of that incident were not immediately available.
Escobar is described as 5-foot-6, 160 pounds and has long brown hair and brown eyes, authorities said.
A police spokesman said they had not yet looked into whether Escobar is related to the drug lord.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
