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Botched robbery in Corona, clumsy crook armed with flowers fails miserably

Cops are looking for this suspect, who tried to rob a man in Corona and threw a punch that missed his face. Photo courtesy of the NYPD

May 20, 2024 By Bill Parry

Police from the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst are looking for an inept crook who tried to rob a man in Corona and failed, then threw a punch that missed before running off empty-handed.

The attempted robbery occurred during the early hours of Saturday, May 11, while the 49-year-old male victim was walking in front of a private home at 97-23 Alstyne Ave. when a stranger clutching a bouquet of flowers approached him at around 5:40 a.m.

Photo courtesy of the NYPD

The suspect offered the man the flowers in exchange for cash and as the victim took out his wallet, the perpetrator tried to snatch it but the man held on to it. The assailant then threw a punch at his face but missed. The unsuccessful robber ran off toward Corona Avenue with nothing but the flowers. EMS responded to the scene but the victim refused medical attention at the scene because the punch never landed, according to an NYPD spokeswoman.

The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect on Friday and described him as having a dark complexion, approximately 18 to 20 years of age with a thin build, around 5 feet tall and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, black pants, red and black Nike Jordan sneakers, a black face covering and he was still holding the flowers as he ran off.

Anyone with information in regard to 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). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.

Through May 12, the 110th Precinct has reported 173 robberies so far in 2024, 40 more than the 133 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 30.1%, according to the most recent CompStat report.