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Robbers Prey on Cabbies in Midtown, Snatching Cash and Phones, NYPD Says

By Noah Hurowitz | August 15, 2016 5:43pm
 A group of suspects are connected to at least six robberies in Manhattan, police say.
Cab Robberies in Midtown
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MIDTOWN — A crew of thieves — including one sporting a Batman tattoo — stole cash and electronics from cab drivers in Manhattan in at least six connected robberies in July, according to a police report.

The group of suspects targeted cabbies mostly in a small area of Midtown on Fifth Avenue in the 30s, and each incident involved the crew either stopping cabs in traffic, surprising drivers as they dropped off passengers, or pretending to be passengers themselves before robbing drivers, according to a police report.

It's not immediately clear how many suspects are connected to the robberies, but there were at least three individuals involved in a single robbery.

A surveillance video shows two of the suspects approaching two cabs in traffic, poking their heads in the window, and at one point trying to open the driver-side door before walking away calmly.

The group first stuck on July 10, at about 4:40 p.m. when a pair of young men got into a cab at Fifth Avenue and West 36th Street and asked to be driven to The Bronx, police said. While they were in the cab, they snatched an iPhone 6s from the front seat and cash from the driver’s shirt pocket before fleeing the car, according to authorities.

One of the suspects popped up again four days later on July 14 at about 2:30 p.m., when he opened a cab's passenger-side door as the driver was dropping off passengers at Fifth Avenue and West 35th Street and swiped the driver's wallet before running off, police said.

On July 16 at about 10:06 p.m. two men quickly entered a cab at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 38th Street, grabbed cash on the armrest, and ran south on Sixth Avenue, according to a police report.

The group struck again on July 18 just after 11 p.m., yanking open a cab’s passenger door as the driver dropped off passengers outside a building at East 34th Street and Fifth Avenue and grabbing cash from the center console, police said.

On July 22, just after 10:35 a.m., two men strolled up to either side of a cab stopped in traffic at 14th Street and Broadway and asked to go to Brooklyn, police said. While the driver was distracted one of the men opened the passenger door and swiped cash from a cup holder in the center console, according to police. The driver tried to stop the thief, but the man on the driver’s side window punched the cabbie in the face, allowing his crony to make off with the cash, police said.

About an hour later, two men got into a cab at West 31st Street and Sixth Avenue at about 11 a.m. and grabbed the driver’s backpack before running off, police said.

The suspects are described as being in their late teens or early 20s, with slim builds, police said. In a video of one incident, two of the suspects are wearing white undershirts, with one suspect sporting tan shorts and the other wearing jeans.

One of the robbery suspects has a tattoo of the Bat-Signal on the inside of his left arm, according to a police report.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips on the website.