Thief Swipes Apple Products, Expensive Goods In NYC-Wide Spree

NEW YORK CITY — Unsuspecting New Yorkers had Apple products stolen, bags snatched and wallets in a months-long, citywide spree of thefts carried out by one man, police said.

The as-yet-unidentified thief remained on the loose this week as NYPD officials linked him to 10 grand larcenies scattered across tony areas in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The thefts range from sidewalk snatch and grabs — such as a Feb. 11 incident on the Upper East Side when he grabbed a woman's bag with a laptop inside — to more disturbing incidents, police said.

In one violent theft, the man walked up to a 39-year-old woman inside Atlantic Mall near Park Slope, faked that he had a gun and grabbed her bag with an iPad mini inside, authorities said.

The thief ran away with Apple products in most reported incidents, according to a list provided by NYPD officials.

The first reported theft unfolded Dec. 9 in Midtown, near 43rd Street and Second Avenue, police said. A woman, 53, said a man snatched a wallet from her hand and ran off, authorities said.

On Dec. 20, the same man is suspected of grabbing a 76-year-old woman's Apple shopping bag — which contained an iPad and an Apple Pencil — while she walked inside the 86th Street-Broadway subway station, police said.

Brooklyn, specifically Fort Greene, was where the next reported crime occurred Jan. 13, authorities said. A 26-year-old woman standing on a subway staircase at Fulton Street and South Portland Avenue was pushed to the ground and had her MacBook Air lifted from her hand, police said.

A short distance away and one day later, the Atlantic Mall theft unfolded about 5:30 p.m., NYPD officials said.

On Jan. 20, a 30-year-old woman walking in Williamsburg was pushed from behind and had her bag with a laptop inside snatched, police said.

Two thefts unfolded in two boroughs Jan. 30, starting about 3:45 p.m. along the border between Bushwick and Bed-Stuy, authorities said. A woman, 26, had her shopping bag with Apple AirPod Max headphones snatched near Kossuth Place and Broadway, NYPD officials said.

One hour later, a 73-year-old man near Prince and Greene streets in SoHo had his iPad stolen from his hand by who police suspect was the same thief, authorities said.

A 19-year-old woman walking down into the Fifth Avenue subway station in Midtown had her bag with a laptop lifted by the suspect Feb. 2, police said.

The thief returned to SoHo Feb. 4, when he grabbed a bag from a 29-year-old woman, authorities said.

The Upper East Side theft occurred one week later, according to the NYPD's timeline.

Police said the suspect is a man with a slim build, about 5 feet 11 inches tall and has black braids.

People with information are asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). They can also submit their tips by the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.