FBI Offers Reward In Hunt For Alleged Jewelry Store Bandit
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Law enforcement officials are hunting for a man they say participated in a series of smash-and-grab jewelry store heists, including a brazen robbery in broad daylight at Cartier in Midtown Manhattan.
The FBI and NYPD have identified the suspect as Ralik Hansen, 28. They say he was a member of a violent interstate robbery crew from Brooklyn that also orchestrated heists in Atlantic City and Virginia.
Hansen is black, stands 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighs about 205 pounds. He was last seen with a shaved head and has noticeable scars on his left wrist and left elbow, authorities said. Around Brooklyn, Hansen is known as "Rah." He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous, the FBI said.
Hansen has family in Georgia and Panama, authorities said. The FBI is offering a "significant" reward for a tip leading to his arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 212-384-1000. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
On Jan. 31, five men, some wearing masks, entered the Cartier on Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, used hammers to smash open a glass display case and made off with 16 watches worth more than $700,000, police said.
Roberto Grant, 33, and Allen Williams, 35, were allegedly stopped in the getaway car and arrested. Both are facing robbery charges.
Sources told 1010 WINS that Grant and Williams were each wearing one of the stolen watches and the same clothing they had on in surveillance video from the store. Each watch was valued at about $42,000.
The crew also allegedly robbed the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City in July. The men took approximately $500,000 worth of Rolex watches and jewelry before fleeing in a dark-colored vehicle, police said.
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