Moped-Mounted Muggers Tied To Half-Dozen Uptown Robberies: NYPD

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY - Moped-riding thieves accused of snatching over 20 womens’ purses and chains last month have been tied to at least six other grabs on the Upper West Side, Washington Heights and Harlem, authorities said Thursday.

One suspect, Jamari Johnson, 21, was arrested on Oct. 28 and charged with robbery and grand larceny, according to officials. As of Wednesday, at least two other suspects remain at large, police said.

The crime spree began in the Flatiron District when moped-mounted individuals snatched a 29-year-old woman’s wallet near East 23rd Street and Park Avenue on Oct. 2 about 12:35 p.m., police said. A similar incident took place on Oct. 17 about 12:50 p.m. when a 33-year-old man saw his chain snatched from his neck near 769 6th Ave.

It didn’t take long for a moped-riding individual to hit Harlem, where on Oct. 3 about 4:30 p.m., a 55-year-old woman saw a necklace and purse removed by a mounted thief outside 1996 Third Ave., police said. A similar crime was reported in Harlem near Broadway and West 122nd Street on Nov. 2 when a 49-year-old woman saw her chain grabbed by a moped-riding thief.

On Oct. 11, a 23-year-old on the Upper West Side was walking in front of 204 West 88th St. when two men on separate mopeds snatched a chain from her neck about 4:40 p.m., police said.

A string of similar crimes have been reported in Washington Heights from Oct. 19 to Nov. 3, with the moped-riding men allegedly striking a 56-year-old woman in the head before removing her chains near West 161 Street and Broadway in the first reported incident. The victim refused medical attention, police said.

Also in Washington Heights, a 26-year-old had her chain removed from her neck by a moped driver on Oct. 27 about 7:40 p.m. in front of 503 West 181 St., and on Nov. 3, two women, 22 and 33 years old respectively, saw their chains swiped near 550 West 171 St. and the intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and West 157th Street just two hours apart, police said.

When first reported, police released images of two people they say are connected to the incidents, showing two men on a black and also a blue moped.

Officials added that one of the men was most recently seen wearing a black jacket with fur on the hood.

Anyone with information in regard to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).