Watch CBS News

Cops Seek Suspect In East Flatbush Robbery Pattern

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A mugger is targeting elderly victims in Brooklyn. He has struck 11 times in the past month, police said Thursday.

Winston Peters said he was walking down the driveway of his East Flatbush home at 9:30 a.m. on July 14. He said he had just returned from a trip to the grocery store, when a jewel-hungry mugger confronted him.

"When I turned around to lock the security door, there's a guy standing right in front. Then he pulled the gun from behind his back, so he said he wants my jewelry," Peters told TV-10/55's Tracee Carrasco, "I had four rings. I told him I was keeping one."

The man ripped Peters' chains off of his neck and continued to demand property.

"He asked me how much I had in my billfold, but I said that I'm keeping, I have to go to work. I was shocked he didn't take it," Peters said.

Police believe that the same man is responsible for robbing Ken Julien on July 10. In that incident he made off with two diamond rings, a gold chain, and a gold bracelet.

"I say, 'what are you doing' because I don't know the individual, so he saw how shocked I was," Julien said.

The man has allegedly robbed 11 people between the ages of 48 and 78 in East Flatbush over the past three weeks. In each case the suspect has brandished a firearm and demanded jewelry before walking away, police said.

In response to the spree, police have been posted on almost every corner in East Flatbush in hopes of catching the thief.

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.