Police: 5 Suspects Wanted In String Of Robberies On J Train
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Thursday were searching for five suspects in a string of robberies in the subway system in Brooklyn and Queens.
The incidents all happened on the J Train near various stops, between this past Friday and Sunday.
Around 2:40 p.m. Friday, a 25-year-old woman was sitting on the outbound J Train as it approached the elevated 121st Street and Jamaica Avenue station in Richmond Hill, Queens.
A man pulled out a knife and forcibly took the woman's cash and her MetroCard from her hands, police said. The suspect then got off the train and fled toward the mezzanine level of the station, police said.
Around 1:50 a.m. Sunday, an 18-year-old man was on another outbound J Train approaching the Jamaica Avenue and 111th Street station, also in Richmond Hill. Four suspects – three men and a woman – came up to the young man, displayed a knife, and punched him in the left side of the face, causing swelling, police said.
The suspects then took an iPhone 6, and a shopping back with a jacket, a Gucci belt, and Jordan sneakers, police said.
And around 1:54 a.m. Sunday, a 47-year-old man was watching a movie while riding the outbound J Train near the Cleveland Street J Train stop in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. A suspect came up and demanded the man's cellphone, police said.
When the man refused to hand it over, another suspect punched the victim in the face and caused a minor laceration, while another took out a knife and ripped away the iPhone 5, police said.
The victim ran off at the station while the suspects stayed on the train, police said.
The victims all refused medical attention at the scene.
Police have released surveillance photos of all the suspects.
Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, log onto the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.
