Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Teen Pickpockets Classmate With Hug to Swipe His Wallet, NYPD Says

 A teenage pickpocket swiped a classmate’s wallet and $300 in cash while another student gave him a hug, police said.
A teenage pickpocket swiped a classmate’s wallet and $300 in cash while another student gave him a hug, police said.
View Full Caption
Shutterstock

FINANCIAL DISTRICT — A teen pickpocket swiped a classmate’s wallet and $300 in cash while another student distracted him with a hug, police said.

The 17-year-old victim, from Staten Island, was in front of 4 South St. around 2 p.m. on May 2 when two students from his school snatched the wallet, the NYPD said.

Surveillance video showed one of the students hugging the 17-year-old while the other removed his $320 wallet — which contained $300 in cash — from his pocket, police said.

An 18-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were arrested in connection with the theft, the NYPD said.

Police didn’t say which school the students attend, and a city Department of Education spokeswoman on Tuesday declined to comment on the incident.

Other recent crimes in the 1st Precinct include:

► A pair of thieves swiped two $749 iPhones from the Apple Store at 185 Greenwich St. around 5:45 p.m. on May 3, police said. No one had been arrested in connection with the incident as of Tuesday, and the store's manager couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

► A 60-year-old man parked his $15,000 Nissan Sentra at the northeast corner of Wall Street and William Street around 5 p.m. on May 6, only to return the next day and discover it had been stolen, the NYPD said. The vehicle was last spotted on the Triborough Bridge.

► A 46-year-old woman was dining inside Dos Caminos at 475 West Broadway around 10 p.m. on May 1 when she realized the pocketbook she’d placed under her chair had been knocked over and her $5 wallet, $4 in cash, a German visa, a German bank card, a German driver’s license, a health insurance card and a museum membership card were missing, police said. When the woman called to cancel her card, she discovered someone had unsuccessfully tried to use it. No one had been arrested in connection with the incident as of Tuesday, and a manager working at the Dos Caminos on Tuesday declined to comment.