What to Know
- A man claiming to be a police officer is replying to ads on Craigslist wanting to buy cell phones, officials say
- The suspect then meets up with the victims from the online ads and steal their cell phones, authorities say
- The crime spree started in February in Manhattan, and happened two more times since then, once in Brooklyn and once in the Bronx, cops say
A man claiming to be a police officer in New York City is finding his victims on Craigslist before meeting up and stealing from them, police say.
The man’s crime spree has hit three of the city’s five boroughs since February, according to the NYPD.
On Feb. 19, the man replied to a woman’s Craigslist post to buy two cell phones. The pair met up on the Upper West Side, where the suspect took her phones from her while he showed her some sort of badge, police said. He then fondled the woman before speeding off in a white, four-door car.
On April 15, the man contacted a boy through Craigslist wanting to buy a cell phone. The two met up in Brooklyn, where the suspect showed the boy a shield and told him he was a police officer, officials said. The suspect sped off in the same white car, police said.
The suspect met up with another man on June 3 in the Bronx, where the suspect showed the man a shield and told him he was a cop, police said. The man took the cell phone from the victim and fled the area in a white car with New Jersey plates, authorities said.
The suspect is described as being around 25 years old.
Police Wednesday night released surveillance footage of the man in hopes of catching him before he strikes again.
