Trio wanted for questioning in string of Manhattan muggings
GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- The NYPD thinks three recent muggings could be related, and they want the public's help in finding three people of interest.
In all three incidents, victims were confronted by either one person or a group, including two men and a woman. Surveillance video shows them hopping turnstiles on the subway.
Two of the muggings happened on the same block, at West 12th Street between 6th and 7th avenues in Greenwich Village.
The first incident happened around 10:30 p.m. on Monday January 15, when a 41-year-old woman had her purse snatched. Thieves got away with her credit card and $80 cash.
Then, just before 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23, a 28-year-old woman reported a group attempted to snatch her purse, but the suspects were unsuccessful.
The second incident happened Sunday, January 21, around 1 a.m. near Stuyvesant Cove Park along the FDR Drive.. A 27-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were sitting on a park bench near East 20th Street when they were approached, thrown to the ground, punched and robbed. The suspects got away with money and a cell phone, police said.
The 27-year-old victim spoke exclusively to Eyewitness News.
"When I saw they hit the girl first, I was like, oh, these people are really trying to knock us out or something," he said. "The first guy swung at her with his right, and she fell immediately to the ground. And then I got up to defend myself, and then the other two came from both sides and started hitting me."
He said he was able to land a few blows of his own and almost threw one of the suspects into the East River. But then the situation changed.
"One of the guys said, 'I have a gun, so stop fighting back,'" he said. "So I stopped immediately."
Anyone with information in regards to these incidents 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 NYPDCrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
All calls are strictly confidential.
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