Teens Rob Midtown Newsstands In January Crime Spree, Police Say

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A group of teenagers robbed several Midtown Manhattan newsstands in January and assaulted workers who attempted to stop the thefts, police said.

In the span of just eight days the teenagers mugged a woman and robbed six newsstands, sending three people to the hospital and stealing candy and more than $650 in cash, an NYPD spokesman said.

The crime spree began on the night of Jan. 15 when the group approached a 39-year-old woman walking on West 57th Street near 10th Avenue and one of the teens punched her in the face and stole her cellphone, police said. The woman got her phone back during a struggle but was ultimately taken to NYU Medical Center for a laceration and swelling to her lip, police said.

Three days later the teens began to target newsstands in Midtown Manhattan. From Jan. 18 to Jan. 23 the teens attempted to rob six different newsstands, police said. Some teenagers would lure newsstand workers out of their posts by running off with candy while other members of the group would rush into the stand and grab cash from the register, police said.

Newsstand employees who attempted to stop the teens who rushed the register were assaulted, police said. Two men were sent to the hospital for injuries suffered during robberies on Jan. 18 and Jan. 20, police said.

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

Photo by NYPD