Bicyclist Phone Thief Commits Ride-By Robberies In Richmond Hill

Photo of a suspect accused of robbing three people throughout Richmond Hill and while riding a bicycle. Photo courtesy of the NYPD.

By Christina Carrega

Residents of Richmond Hill are advised to be on the lookout for a man on a bicycle who's committing ride-by robberies of cell phones, police said.

Between Nov. 24 and 30, three Samsung Galaxy cell phones were ripped out of the hands of people walking in the middle of the afternoon and early evening.

The allege bicycle thief approached two unsuspected men and a woman and quickly took the phones before speeding away.

A Samsung Galaxy S8, S7 and 9 were taken, police said.

Surveillance video from the third incident in front of 112-16 Liberty Avenue captured the man fleeing the scene.

The rider is described as an African-American man, wearing a blue and white jacket with a red hood and a letter "H" in the front. He was also seen wearing green pants, red sneakers and eyeglasses.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.