From Greenwich Village to the Upper East Side, police are hunting for a serial robber they say has stolen from more than a dozen people -- and New York City businesses -- while brandishing a knife often pressed up against his victims.
Police say the armed assailant has struck at least 15 victims in less than four weeks and made off with over $3,300 in cash and a victim's credit cards on at least one occasion.
According to the NYPD, the knife-wielding man started his spree back on Oct. 9 at a Chase Back in Midtown. The man entered the lobby of the East 42nd Street branch around 11 p.m. and allegedly grabbed a 27-year-old victim from behind.
The suspect took $150 in cash from the woman's wallet before fleeing the bank, police say. The woman suffered minor injuries to her arm but refused medical attention.
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The man's second victim also suffered injuries, this time to the face. Police say the suspect struck the next day at Liberty Smoke Shop on 10th Avenue around 7 p.m. In that case, the armed individual walked behind the register and repeatedly punched an employee in the face before taking $580 from the store's register.
There's a two-week gap between the suspect's second and third reported robbery attempt. Authorities say the man went after a 71-year-old man on Oct. 24 in Greenwich Village, again brandishing his knife while demanding cash. But this time police say the victim refused and the assailant fled without any injuries.
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Police say the next day he held the knife to the back of a man's neck, a threat he repeated twice the following on victims all 50 years and older. He found a third victim on Oct. 26, claiming $120 for the day as well as a man's credit cards.
The serial robber found his youngest victim, 19, on Oct. 28 when he tried to steal from three different people, police say. She didn't comply with the suspect, but the robber did get a handful of cash from an elderly victim later that day and $600 in cash from a Subway restaurant on Broadway.
Police say the suspect would strike five more times before clocking his 15th robbery on Nov. 1 when he stole $600 from a deli register on 2nd Avenue, just one day after swiping $1,200 from a Dunkin Donuts on Madison Avenue.
The department released surveillances images and new video of the man late this week after compiling the lengthy list of crime scenes he's left in his wake.
Police say the man is approximately 20 to 30 years old and stands 5'8" and roughly 140 to 160 lbs. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
