Police on Wednesday released video of an alleged thief stealing a cellphone from a woman inside the 61st Street subway station in Woodside earlier this month.
Aug. 25, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
Police on Wednesday released video of an alleged thief stealing a cellphone from a woman inside the 61st Street subway station in Woodside earlier this month.
The video shows the suspect standing on the Manhattan bound 7 train platform watching the victim as she sits on a bench while texting on her phone at around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 14.
The suspect, a man, then approaches the straphanger from behind and grabs her phone. The woman tries to hold onto the device with both hands but the suspect yanks the phone away from her — pulling her across the bench, the video footage shows.
He then takes off down a set of stairs as the woman gives chase before fleeing the station.
Police say the assailant had followed the victim from a nearby store before carrying out the alleged theft. He is seen in the video wearing dark-colored pants and a dark t-shirt with the words “Blessed King” emblazoned in white across its front.
The cover of the phone contained a prepaid MetroCard and a debit card, police said.
The woman was not injured during the incident.
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 CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/
