Man In Sonic The Hedgehog Sweatshirt Goes On Robbery Spree: NYPD

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — Police are searching for a wacky thief who dressed in a Sonic the Hedgehog sweatshirt during four robberies in Tribeca and Chelsea, authorities said.

The man has made off with thousands worth of electronics, haphazardly grabbing display phones and bolting out of cell phone stores.

His first heist was at a Chelsea AT&T store on July 6, where he snatched a display iPhone valued at $799, according to police.

He struck again nearly a month later on Sept. 5 in the Financial District, this time at a Wall Street AT&T store. The third caper was on Sept. 18 at a Broad Street Russel Cellular store. The serial robber made off with nearly $2,500 in Apply and Samsung phones from both shops, police said.

The most recent incident at a Chelsea Verizon store on Ninth Avenue on Sept. 28 escalated when the thief threatened to stab an employee who tried to stop him from running off with electronics.

The 35-year-old employee tried to block the crook from fleeing with a display iPhone, but the man shoved him out of the way and ran north on Ninth Avenue, authorities said.

No one was injured in the latest incident.

Police describe the rogue as 18- 22-years-old, five-foot-eleven with a black bear. He was last spotted in his signature Sonic The Hedgehog gray sweatshirt, black pants and was carrying a brown backpack.

Anyone with information in regards 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).

Photo courtesy of the NYPD