BY GABE HERMAN | Robbers took a man’s cellphone and money after forcing him to take cash out of several ATMs, police said. At about 10:50 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27, in front of 355 W. 16 St., between Eighth and Ninth Aves., a 23-year-old man realized he no longer had his cell phone. Two men then approached him and said they knew where to find his phone, but he would have to pay them to retrieve it, police said. The victim got into their vehicle, officials said, and he saw a knife on the dashboard. He was then taken to several ATMs, where he withdrew a total of about $400 and gave it to the men, but the suspects did not give the man his phone like they had promised, according to police.
An investigation found that an unknown person used the victim’s phone to transfer around $2,900 from the victim’s Venmo account to another person’s account. The two men wanted for the robbery in the 10th Precinct are described by police as in their 30s. Police released photo and video of the incident this week. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA), visit the Crime Stoppers website or send a direct message on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
