STATEN ISLAND, NY — The NYPD is asking for the public’s help to locate a man sought for questioning in connection with reported thefts of pocketbooks and wallets left unattended by women shopping at popular malls on Staten Island.
Designer purses and wallets allegedly were stolen from a stroller, a senior’s walker and shopping carts in the brazen incidents that occurred during daytime hours. Credit cards pilfered from two women were used to make illegal purchases, according to a statement from the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.
Police identified a grand-larceny pattern for the four incidents in July and August in New Dorp in the 122nd Precinct and New Springville in the 121st Precinct.
The first incident allegedly occurred when a 38-year-old woman was shopping on July 30 at around 12:15 pm inside a Marshalls store at 2656 Hylan Blvd. in The Boulevard shopping center. The victim told police that she placed her Michael Kor’s pocketbook on a stroller as she prepared to pay for merchandise on that Saturday.
The purse was unattended when an unknown individual took the pocketbook containing $300 cash, an Apple iPhone 12, and credit cards. The individual fled to parts unknown. Her credit cards later were used to make $500 worth of illegal purchases, according to the police statement.
On Aug. 4, the second incident allegedly occurred at around 4:20 pm inside the ShopRite supermarket located in The Boulevard. A 66-year-old woman was shopping on that Thursday when she left her Coach pocketbook unattended. An unknown individual took the purse containing $150 cash, an Apple iPhone and credit cards before fleeing on foot northbound on Hylan Boulevard, according to the police statement.
The third incident apparently happened on Aug. 17, at about 1:25 pm inside Macy’s at 120 Richmond Hill Rd. inside the Staten Island Mall. A 71-year-old woman was shopping on that Wednesday when she left her white, Michael Kors purse unattended on her walker. An unknown individual took the pocketbook containing $1,000 cash, an Apple iPhone 12 and credit cards before fleeing to unknown parts.
The individual was captured on Macy’s security cameras wearing a blue-hooded, long-sleeve shirt with a white graphic on the front, a black baseball cap, a black surgical mask, light-colored jeans and white sneakers. The individual later made $163 worth of illegal credit-card purchases at the Kids Footlocker at 86th Street and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, according to the police statement.
On Aug. 19, the fourth incident allegedly occurred at around 5:11 pm inside the Stop & Shop supermarket at 2754 Hylan Blvd. in the Tysens Park Shopping Center. A 59-year-old woman was shopping on that Friday when she placed her wallet in her pocketbook inside a shopping cart and then left the purse unattended. An unknown individual removed the wallet containing $200 in cash and credit cards from the pocketbook before fleeing to unknown parts. The individual later made $652 worth of illegal credit card purchases, according to the police statement.
The NYPD is asking for the public’s help to locate a man with a distinctive tattoo sought for questioning in connection with reported thefts of pocketbooks and wallets left unattended by women shopping at popular malls on Staten Island. Designer purses and wallets allegedly were stolen from a stroller, a senior’s walker and shopping carts in the brazen incidents that occurred during daytime hours in July and August. (Courtesy of NYPD)
The NYPD supplied photos of the man sought for questioning who was captured on surveillance cameras making an illegal $12 purchase at the New Dorp Deli located at 306 New Dorp Lane. He was seen on security footage wearing a blue baseball cap with a Mets logo, a white shirt with long sleeves, a blue surgical mask, ripped shorts that were light blue and black-and-white sneakers.
Police described the man as being about 35 years old with a light complexion, standing about 5-feet, 7-inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds, with a medium build. He has brown eyes, a tattoo on his right arm and short, dark hair. The man spoke only Spanish when he apparently made his illegal purchases.
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 tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.