NYPD have released images and are asking for the public’s to help identify individuals involved in a five-pattern robbery involving motorcycle and E-Bike clashes and subsequent robberies.
The crooks were the motorcyclists, and the NYPD has released images of both the motorcycle in question and potential suspects in an attempt to solve this ongoing investigation. Authorities note that the same motorcycle was used in each of the five attacks, but the motive for E-bike thievery remains unknown.
The first bike-on-bike robbery occurred on Feb 12 at 8:10 p .m. in front of 320 East 109th St., on the border between the Upper East Side and South East Harlem; the second on Feb. 20 at 9:30 p.m. in front of 440 St. Nicholas Ave. in North West Harlem; the third on Feb. 21 at 8:11 p.m. in front of 321 1ST Ave. near 21st St. in Manhattan; the fourth on Feb. 23 at 9:25 p.m. in front of 2186 5th Ave. in North East Harlem, with the spate ending on Feb. 24 at 9:30 p .m. in front of 68 Bradhurst Ave. in East Harlem, report the NYPD.
In each attack, the violence was of near carbon copy, involving two motorcyclists aboard one traditional motorized bike stopping E-Bike riders before menacing victims with a knife or gun then punching and kicking their way to the prize: the E-bike itself, authorities report.
The fist victim was a 30-year-old man whose E-Bike was forcibly removed in the above manner, with the weapon flashed on this occasion being a silver knife. The victim complied and the crooks fled northbound on 1st Ave with no injuries were reported in this case.
Victim number two was a 36-year-old man, this time snuck up upon by the bikers, menaced with a knife, knocked onto the ground, punched and once again left bereft of his E-bike. The victim sustained minor head injuries but refused medical attention while the assailants fled in an unknown direction.
The third victim, a 21-year-old man, was approached by two unknown males on a motorcycle, shoved of ground, kicked in the head, and yet again, the E-bike was snatched.
Victim number four, a 24-year-old male, was again stopped by the motor biker pair as he was attempting to make a delivery. Fisticuffs were once again employed as the man was struck on the head and body, but on this occasion, for the first time, a firearm was brandished as a threat. Yet again, the E-bike was the object of desire, and obtained by these bad bikers before they fled southbound on 5th avenue. No injuries were reported.
Authorities report that the fifth victim in this roughly two-week spree was a 25-year-old-male, again stopped while riding an E-bike. Being pushed into a car was enough for this victim to relinquish the E-bike hot commodity, no weapons were flashed, and the assailants fled in an unknown direction. No injuries were reported in this attack.
When contacted, the NYPD reported no new information, nor did they disclose if any other personal property, such as cash or clothing were stolen during these attacks. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing. The suspects are described by NYPD as light-skinned men, approximately 18-26 years old.
Anyone with information about the E-bike robber’s whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
