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Shoplifters Caught Swiping $180 in Ice Cream from UES Stores, NYPD Says

By Shaye Weaver | August 26, 2016 12:21pm
 Two thieves tried to steal Häagen-Dazs from an Upper East Side Gristedes and Duane Reade on Thursday, police said.
Two thieves tried to steal Häagen-Dazs from an Upper East Side Gristedes and Duane Reade on Thursday, police said.
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Shutterstock/Keith Homan

YORKVILLE — A pair of shoplifters with a penchant for sweets were caught making off with $180 worth of Häagen-Dazs ice cream in two separate incidents, police said.

A 50-year-old East Harlem resident tried to walk out of the Duane Reade at 1524 Second Ave., near East 79th Street, without paying for $103 worth of the frozen treats he had stuffed in his bag at about 12:20 a.m. Thursday, according to authorities.

Employees caught him in the doorway and he was later arrested, police said.

Then, at 10:10 a.m. Thursday, a 53-year-old Upper East Side resident snatched $84 worth of Häagen-Dazs from the Gristedes at 1343 Lexington Ave., at East 89th Street, officials said. He was later arrested.

Both men were charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of a stolen property.

A Duane Reade representative did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday, and a manager at Gristedes declined to comment.

The incidents marked the latest in a rash of ice cream thefts happening at pharmacies and grocery stores across the city. 

On Aug. 15, a man tried to walk out of the Union Square Food Emporium with 50 cartons of Häagen-Dazs ice cream in his backpack.

And back in February, a Kips Bay man and several young people were arrested after stealing ice cream at six Duane Reade and CVS pharmacies in Manhattan. 

Police have said the bandits, who are most likely small-time operators and not connected to organized crime, turn the ice cream around and sell it bodegas for cash. 

Even Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of ice-cream thieves, reports say.

Although it's not the only brand that thieves target, Häagen-Dazs is often at the top of the list. A representative for the company did not immediately return a call for comment Friday.