What to Know
- A serial thief made off with more than $5,000 in cash and around $13,000 worth of jewelry by robbing a bevy of retail stores in Manhattan
- Police believe the thief is a 48-year-old man named Robert Taylor
- During one of the robberies, Taylor allegedly put a 23-year-old GameStop employee in a headlock and threw him to the ground.
A serial thief made off with more than $5,000 in cash and around $13,000 worth of jewelry by robbing a bevy of retail stores in Manhattan over the course of five weeks, police said.
The suspect, 48-year-old Robert Taylor, walked into a GameStop on the Upper East Side on May 6, approached the 29-year-old cashier, simulated a weapon in a duffel bag and demanded cash, the NYPD said. Taylor fled the store with around $1,100, according to police.
Less than two weeks later, on May 22, Taylor walked into the same GameStop, went up to a 21-year-old cashier, simulated a weapon in a plastic bag and asked the cashier to empty both registers before fleeing the store with around $600, police said.
Three days later, on May 25, Taylor went into a GameStop on the Upper West Side, placed a bag on the counter, put his hand inside the bag and asked two employees to give him money. At some point during the exchange, Taylor put a 23-year-old employee in a headlock and threw him to the ground, the NYPD said.
The other employee handed Taylor around $1,100 in cash, according to police. The 23-year-old was treated for an abrasion to his arm at the scene, police said.
On May 28, Taylor fled a GameStop on Sixth Avenue in Midtown with around $285 in cash after holding his hand in a backpack he’d placed on the counter, the NYPD said.
Local
Between May 29 and June 6, meanwhile, Taylor robbed a retail store on East 14th Street, a restaurant on Fifth Avenue and a GNC on Sixth Avenue, making off with around $2,100 in cash, according to police.
And on Friday, Taylor went into Versani Jewelry Store on Mercer Street in SoHo, flashed a knife at a 31-year-old employee and fled the store with around $13,000 worth of jewelry, the NYPD said.
Taylor is approximately 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds, according to police.
Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
