Fruit Vendors Robbed In Harlem, Police Say

HARLEM, NY — The NYPD is trying to identify men wanted in connection with the robberies of fruit cart vendors in Harlem, police said.

Two fruit vendors were robbed in two days in April along West 125th Street in Harlem, police said. Two men are suspected of carrying out both robberies, police said.

The first robbery occurred during the early morning hours of April 6, police said. Two men approached a 63-year-old vendor on the corner of West 125th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard around 2:30 a.m., police said. One of the men displayed a handgun and demanded the vendor's money, police said. The vendor handed over $110 in cash and the robbers fled the scene, police said.

The second robbery happened the next day around 3 a.m., police said. The same robbers approached a 47-year-old fruit vendor on St. Nicholas Avenue between West 125th and West 126th streets and one of the men punched him in the face, police said. The other robber snatched the vendor's cellphone and vending license before the two men ran off, police said.

Both suspects are described as men in their late teens or early 20s, police said. One man was last seen wearing a camouflage jacket, dark colored pants and black sneakers and the other man was last seen wearing a black hooded jacket, dark green pants and black boots.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

Photo by NYPD