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Police impersonators steal cash, wallet, phone from two victims in Corona

Screengrab from surveillance video released by NYPD.

Aug. 3, 2017 By Nathaly Pesantez

A group of men stole cash, an iPhone, and a wallet from two victims on two separate instances in Corona after falsely identifying themselves as police officers, according to the NYPD.

Three unidentified police impersonators took to the streets in the early hours of July 16 at 4:10 a.m. with an SUV when they pulled up to their first victim, a 26-year-old male, who was walking on the sidewalk in front of 34-61 110th Street. One of the three exited the car and identified himself as police and began to search the victim’s pockets, taking an iPhone and wallet with $30 and a bank card as another male exited the car and walked to the victim. Both unidentified men headed back to their car, where the third unidentified man was on the wheel, and bolted.

In another incident just twelve days later on July 28 at 12:30 a.m., the same trio drove up to a 43-year-old man on the sidewalk at the intersection of 99th Street and 35th Avenue. All three exited the vehicle this time, one with a badge displayed, and stole $40 from him before returning to their SUV and speeding away.

Neither victims at the two scenes were hurt.

Police are searching for both the unidentified SUV and the identity of the three impersonators, and have released surveillance video of the car from a home near where the first incident happened.

Two of the unidentified males are described to be White-Hispanic and between 19 to 25 years of age, while the third is identified as black and between 19 to 25-years-old.

The SUV is light in color, and could possible be a Ford Escape, according to police.

Anyone with information in regards 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).