Cops Searching For Suspect In Jewelry Nabbing Near Newkirk Plaza

Police are searching for a man suspected of stealing jewelry from an elderly woman in broad daylight last Thursday near Newkirk Plaza, cops say.

The suspect reportedly snatched a chain from the neck of a 76-year-old woman at 5pm on July 21, near Marlborough Road and Newkirk Avenue, according to police.

NYPD surveillance video footage shows the suspect sprinting down the street, where he fled eastbound through Newkirk Plaza toward Foster Avenue, say cops:

Police describe the individual as a black man last seen wearing a white baseball cap, a white shirt and gray sweatpants; between 20 to 25 years old and 6 feet tall.

This case has been categorized as a grand larceny, meaning theft of property exceeding a certain value, in many cases over $1,000. Grand larceny is classified in terms of first, second, third, or fourth degree depending on the value of the stolen property, but the degree is usually not determined until the perpetrator is convicted, a police spokesperson told us. In New York State, grand larceny is a felony that could land a first time offender in state prison, according to this Brooklyn law attorney.

This grand larceny case comes in the wake of two other theft incidents in the 70th precinct we reported this summer (though the other two were not classified as Grand Larceny): a public theft and assault near prospect park in a fake iPod scam, and an apartment burglary near Argyle Road in mid-July.

At the last 70th precinct community council meeting in late June, Captain James Palumbo noted that overall crime rate had dropped for for the month of June, but there was an uptick in robberies, felony assaults, and cases of grand larceny. There has also been an overall drop in reported crimes in the 70th precinct for 2016 compared to the same time last year, but a 13.2 percent spike in grand larceny crimes, according to Compstat statistics.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

We encourage you to provide any information you may have on these cases to Crime Stoppers. A man responsible for at lease five attacks on elderly women was arrested in late April because of a tip by a witness to Crime Stoppers.