Police: Man Robbed 5 Women In Bronx Apartment Building Elevators
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Saturday were trying to put an end to a robbery spree in the Bronx, in which investigators said all the victims were targeted inside elevators.
As CBS2's Ilana Gold reported, police said they were looking for at least one suspect who has robbed five victims in elevators. Most of the crimes happened at the Butler Houses off Webster Avenue, in the Claremont section of the Bronx.
• On Friday, Oct. 2, around 5 a.m., the suspect confronted a 24-year-old woman in an elevator in a building on Webster Avenue, and demanded her wallet. The victim handed over her wallet, containing credit cards and cash, and her iPhone 6, police said;
• On Sunday, Nov. 15, at 9:20 p.m., a 51-year-old woman was on an elevator in a Webster Avenue building, when the suspect entered and demanded her purse. He then took the woman's purse from her and ran off, police said;
• On Saturday, Dec. 12, at 1:36 a.m., the suspect came up to a woman in the elevator of a building on Washington Avenue and grabbed her bag. The victim struggled with the suspect, but he made off with her purse, police said;
• On Sunday, Dec. 13 at 10 p.m., a 32-year-old woman was getting off the elevator in her building on Webster Avenue when the suspect – who had been on the elevator with her – simulated a handgun and demanded her property, police said. The suspect took the woman's bag, police said;
• On Sunday, Dec. 27, at 4:15 a.m., a 32-year-old woman was on the elevator in a building on Webster Avenue, when the suspect demanded her purse, police said. The woman refused and tried to hold onto her bag, but the suspect punched her, took the purse, and ran off, police said. The woman refused medical attention.
Police released surveillance video of the suspect, who was described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s or early 30s, standing about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing about 230 pounds. He appears in the video in a subway station, with a beard and wearing a black jacket and a black hat.
Police said he and another man seen in the video – wearing a white T-shirt – were checking a MetroCard stolen from the victim in the fourth incident to see if it was still active.
Police were also seeking to question the second man who appears in the video.
Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, log onto the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.