Thief Threatens To Stab Barista Over Travel Mug, Police Say

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The NYPD is trying to identify a man who threatened an employee of a Midtown Starbucks at knifepoint while stealing a travel mug, police said.

The man swiped a travel mug from the Starbucks on Seventh Avenue between West 35th and 36th streets on Wednesday, Oct. 17 and bolted out of the store without paying, police said. When a 25-year-old employee chased after the man and confronted him on the street, the thief pulled a knife and threatened to stab the barista, police said.

After the employee backed down, the man fled into the West 34th Street-Herald Square subway station, police said.

The suspect is described as a man in his 30s or 40s standing about 6-feet-tall and weighing around 200 pounds, police said. He was last seen wearing a gray sweat-suit and was carrying a shopping bag and a rolling travel cart.

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

Photos by NYPD