Shoplifter Swipes Bags Worth Nearly $20K From UES Stores: Police

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The NYPD is trying to identify a shoplifter with an expensive taste in handbags, police said.

The same man is wanted in connection with seven thefts at Upper East Side stores over the period of two months, police said. During the shoplifting spree the thief has knocked over luxury stores on Madison Avenue such as Hermès, Stella McCartney, Lanvin, Jimmy Choo and Celine, police said.

The robbery spree started on December 29 and the last known theft occurred Feb. 18, police said. The shoplifter's routine is consistent. The thief asks a store employee to show him some items for sale and then flees the store while the employee tends to other customers, police said.

Most of the items stolen by the man have been bags, but he's also swiped jewelry and a purse, police said. In total, the merchandize he's stolen is valued at a combined $19,500, police said.

The suspect is described as a man in his 20s or 30s, standing about 5-foot-5 and weighing about 160 pounds, police said. Security camera footage has caught the man in a number of outfits including a puffy camouflage jacket, and an all-black outfit. Security photos show that the man always wears some sort of headwear and sunglasses during thefts.

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

Photo by NYPD