Pair of suspects wanted in brazen air pump thefts in Queens and Brooklyn

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Two suspects are wanted in a string of air pump thefts at gas station in Queens and Brooklyn.

It's about as brazen as it gets.

In video obtained by Eyewitness News, watch two guys in a Mercedes pull up to the air pump at a Sunoco on Rockaway Boulevard.

They use a chain to attach it to the back of their car, and then one of them gets into the driver's seat and guns it, ripping the pump from its post.

Then they throw the whole machine in their trunk, and drive away. It's over in a matter of minutes.

That was just one incident.

"This one, this one here was completely gone," said Vick Bridgall, a gas station attendant.

But the BP on North Conduit Avenue was hit three different times! You can imagine how frustrating it's been for Bridgall. Each of those machines was filled with hundreds of dollars in coins.

And with customers now unable to fill up their tires, he says they're going elsewhere, taking their business with them.

"They're making an easy dollar while we are doing our daily jobs the right way, the honest way; it's not really fair you know?" Bridgall said.

Cops say the pair have hit at least 17 times at gas stations across Brooklyn and Queens.

The Ozone Park BP has had to replace its pump twice now after it was hit last month and back in December. That time the thieves were driving a black Honda.

Back at Vick's BP, there are lots of cameras, but not one of those air pumps was within the sightlines of any of them.

He's glad to hear police now have this video and hopes the publicity will deflate the fortunes of these crafty crooks.

"I'm just hoping the police take this matter very seriously and catch these guys before they go and do something else," Bridgall said.

The suspects usually make off with a few hundred dollars in coins and also steal the air pumps which were worth anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000.

The suspects are described as two males, White or Hispanic. One of the suspects was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans and was driving a blue Honda Accord during one of the incidents.

Anyone with information in regards to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.