Rob wave grows
3 new victims in their 60s part of scary trend
THREE PEOPLE in their 60s were robbed in separate holdups on Wednesday — adding to a troubling list of crimes against the city’s more vulnerable citizens, authorities said.
The first robbery took place in Queens, when a goon robbed a 68-year-old cab driver as she sat in her car in Jamaica.
The cabbie told police that she was idling on Jamaica Ave. near 104th St. at 3:15 a.m. when the crook reached in through her open window, punched her in the face and yanked three gold chains from her neck.
The robber also ran off with her cell phone and $65, police said.
She was not seriously hurt, cops said.
Just 30 minutes later, another thief in Queens robbed a 64-year-old man at gunpoint, authorities said.
The creep stormed up to his victim on 215th Place and Hillside Ave. in Queens Village, whipped out a gun and robbed the man of his cash, wallet and iPhone, police said.
Less than an hour later, a 62-year-old man was held up at gunpoint on W. 162nd St. near Edgecomb Ave. in Washington Heights, officials said.
The mugger — who appeared to be in his 20s — got away with $50 and the victim’s set of keys after the 4:30 a.m. confrontation, police said.
No arrests have been made in the three cases, which police do not believe are linked.
The city has been reeling from a wave of robberies and assaults against the elderly in recent weeks.
On Saturday, a boozed-up brute cold-cocked 69-yearold Eve Gentillion outside a Queens deli, police said.
Her alleged attacker, Richard (Kwasi) Springer was still being sought by authorities Wednesday night.
On Oct. 10, Harlem resident Anthony McBride, a 61-year-old who uses a walker, was robbed of his gold chains by a man who opened his apartment building door for him, police said.
Through Sunday, there have been 939 assaults this year on New Yorkers age 65 and older, police records show. That’s nearly 15% more than the 817 attacks over the same period last year.
Cops have investigated 356 robberies against the elderly so far this year through Sunday — a nearly 8% rise from the 331 reported during the same period last year.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, who reviews every crime in which the victim is over 65, said most thieves targeting the elderly are addicts looking for loot to fuel their drug habits.