MANHATTAN — Police are searching for a man they said impersonated an NYPD officer while stealing iPhones from victims he met through Craigslist ads in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The man, who appears to be in his early-to-mid 20s, first met up with a 24-year-old woman on Feb. 19 at Columbus Avenue and West 63rd Street after responding to an ad for two smartphones, according to the NYPD. He removed the phones from the woman while displaying a badge and then groped her breast before fleeing in a white four-door sedan.
Then on April 15 he met a 16-year-old boy through Craigslist on Eastern Parkway in front of the Brooklyn Museum. He again flashed a badge and told the teen he was a police officer before fleeing in the white sedan, police said.
Finally, on June 3 he met up with a 23-year-old man on University Avenue near Brooklyn College after responding to a Craigslist ad. He flashed the badge and took the victim’s phone and fled in the sedan with New Jersey license plates.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips on the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.
