Thief wields needle
Terrorizes 3 nabes, stealing iPhones & other gadgets
A BANDIT armed with a hypodermic needle has accosted eight Bronx victims since mid-August, stealing iPhones and other electronic gadgets, police say.
Residents of three Bronx neighborhoods where the suspect has struck are in fear.
“I don’t know what the needle’s got in it,” said Berto Luciano, 59, of Starling Ave. “Maybe he’ll kill somebody.”
“People will just do anything to get over on other people. That’s disgusting,” said Nathan Gaffney, 74, who was waiting for a bus on E. Tremont Ave. near Castle Hill Ave., where two of the robberies occurred.
At nearby Regional Aid for Interim Needs, Inc. (RAIN), an agency serving seniors, program director Shirley Martinez said she has advised seniors to travel in groups and be mindful of their surroundings.
“I tell them to walk into a store or draw attention to yourself if something is happening,” Martinez said. “Since this guy is attacking at all times of day, it’s that much more dangerous.”
St. Raymond School is also nearby, and crossing guard Maria Oliveras said she is worried about the schoolchildren.
“It’s spooky,” Oliveras said. “I tell the kids all the time to put your phones away.”
Teens were the needle-wielder’s victims on at least four occasions. All victims were male, and six were approached on E. Tremont Ave. None were injured.
On Sept. 10 at 7:40 a.m., the thief waved his needle at a 16-year-old boy at White Plains and Gun Hill Roads and took the teen’s iPad. The same thief is suspected in three incidents on Sept. 14.
In the first, he struck up a chat with at 14-year-old at 8:20 a.m. at E. Tremont and Third Aves. Then he threatened the teen with the needle and took his cell phone.
At 9:30 a.m., the thief tried to talk to a 17-yearold boy on the Bx40 bus at E. Tremont and Castle Hill Aves. He displayed a knife, but the victim fled and wasn’t robbed.
At 6 p.m., the same culprit threatened a man, 19, and stole his iPod, police said.
The suspect is described as Hispanic, about 40 years old, 5-feet-6 and 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black leather Yankee cap, a black hooded sweatshirt, a black T-shirt with blue lettering, gray jeans and black sneakers.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS, visit NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or text 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIPS577.
This is the second set of iPhone robberies to plague the Bronx in recent weeks. In Bedford Park, a man has robbed seven women. No arrest has been made.
On Monday, the NYPD announced that Apple product thefts this year greatly outpace the overall increase in crime. Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 23, police recorded 11,447 thefts of Apple products, up 3,280 over the same period last year, or 40%. In the same time span, the NYPD recorded a total of 79,335 index crimes, up 3,015 over that span last year, or 4%.