At large suspects robbing Manhattan taxis in traffic: NYPD

Police are looking for at least two men in connection to a Manhattan robbery pattern in which taxis are robbed while the drivers are stopped in traffic.

Around 4:40 p.m. on Sunday, July 10, two men got into a taxi at 400 Fifth Ave. and asked to be taken to the Bronx, police reported. The two then took the driver’s iPhone 6S from the seat and cash from the driver’s shirt pocket and fled.

On Saturday, July 16, around 10:00 p.m., a taxi driver at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 38th Street said the two suspects entered his car and grabbed cash from the armrest, police stated. A third person was involved in a similar incident the following Monday when a taxi driver reported cash was stolen from his center console by three individuals as he was dropping off passengers at 349 Fifth Ave. In both robberies, the suspects fled on foot.

On Friday, July 22, around 10:35 a.m. in front of 853 Broadway, two men approached a taxi on opposite sides as it was stopped in traffic, according to police. As one of them punched the driver through the open driver-side window, the second one opened the passenger-side door and took cash from the cup holder before fleeing on foot on West 14th Street.

At 11:20 a.m. on the same Friday, the two men entered a taxi at 894 Sixth Ave. and took a driver’s backpack from the front passenger seat, police added.

Police described the individuals as black men in their late teens to mid-20s with slims builds and medium complexions. One of them has a tattoo of the Batman logo on the inside of his left arm.

Anyone with information should call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA. The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.